Etymology Dictionary

CAROL,  a kind of song; orig. a dance.  (F.,—C.)   'Faire is carole of maide gent;' King Alisaunder, l. 1845.—O.F. carole, orig. a sort of dance; later carolle, 'a sort of dance wherein many dance together; also, a carroll, or Christmas song;' Cot.—Bret. koroll, a dance, a movement of the body in cadence; korolla, korolli, to dance, move the body in cadence. + Manx carval, a carol. + Corn. carol, a choir, concert. + W. carol, a carol, song; caroli, to carol; coroli, to move in a circle, to dance. + Gael. carull, caireall, harmony, melody, carolling.   β. The word is clarly Celtic; not Greek, as Diez suggests, without any evidence; see carol discussed in Williams's Corn. Lexicon.   The root also appears in Celtic, as Williams suggests; the original notion being that of 'circular motion,' exactly the same as in the case of Car, q.v.   Cf. Irish cor, 'music; a twist, turn, circular motion;' car, 'a twist, turn, bending;' W. cór, a circle, choir; Gael. car, cuir, 'a twist, a bend, a turn, a winding as of a stream; a bar of music; movement, revolution, motion.'   Cf. Skt. char, to move.—✔KAR, to move, run; see Fick, i. 43.