Etymology Dictionary

CARD (1),  a piece of pasteboard.  (F.,—Gk.)   Used by Shak. in the sense of chart; Macb. i. 3. 17; also a playing-card, Tam. Shrew, ii. 407.   In the latter sense it is in Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, bk. i. c. 26.   A corruption of carte; cf. chart.—F. carte, 'a paper, a card;' Cot.—Lat. (late) carta, earlier charta, paper, a piece of paper.—Gk. χάρτη, also χάρτης, a leaf of paper.   Doublet, chart, q.v.   Der. card-board.

CARD (2),  an instrument for combing wool; as verb, to comb wool.  (F.,—L.)   The sb. is the original word, but is rare.   M.E. carde, sb.; carden, vb.   'Carde, wommanys instrument, cardus, discerpulum;' Prompt. Parv. p. 62.   'Cardyn wolle, carpo;' ibid.   The pp. carded occurs in P. Plowman, B. x. 18.—F. carde; Cotgrave gives the pl. 'cardes, cards for wooll.'   He also gives 'Carder de laine, to card wooll.'—Low Lat. cardus, Lat. carduus, a thistle; used for carding wool.—Lat. cārĕre, to card wool.   Fick suggests a relation to Skt. kash, to scratch (root KAS); i. 49.   Cf. Russ. chesate, to card wool.