Word.ws English Dictionary

Carolingian

Syllables: Ca·ro·lin·gi·an/ˌkæ.ɹəˈlɪn.dʒɪ.ən/US/ˌkæɹ.əˈlɪn.dʒi.ən/

Carolingian adjective: of or pertaining to the Carolings, the members of a Frankish dynasty, descended from Charles Martel, which arose from the Pippinid and Arnulfingian clans in the 7th century and ruled parts of western Europe until the 9th century, reaching its peak under Martel's grandson Charlemagne.

Adjective

Carolingian (not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to the Carolings, the members of a Frankish dynasty, descended from Charles Martel, which arose from the Pippinid and Arnulfingian clans in the 7th century and ruled parts of western Europe until the 9th century, reaching its peak under Martel's grandson Charlemagne.
    • And thus the Empire was transferred from the Carolingian Family to the Saxons.1697, Samuel von Pufendorf, translated by Jodocus Crull, An Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe, London, page 281
  2. Being or relating to a style of minuscule script.

Noun

Carolingian (plural Carolingians)

  1. A member of the Carolingian dynasty.
    • A certaine Chronicler writ a pretty while agoe, that this King ſhould come of the houſe of France, and the race of Charlemaigne, according to that which was prophecied of him; Some ſay (ſaith he) that there is another common prophecy, that ſome of the Carolingians, that is of the race of King...1638, Gerard Langbaine, transl., A Review of the Councell of Trent, Oxford, page 133

Synonyms of Carolingian

Forms of Carolingian

Adjective
alternative misconstruction (dated)Carlovingian
alternative form (rare)Carlingian
alternative form (rare)Karlingian
alternative form (rare)Karolingian
Noun
pluralCarolingians

Origin of Carolingian

From Medieval Latin Carolingī (“Carolings (descendants of Charles Martel)”) [plural of Carolingus, from a Frankish patronymic ultimately composed of Proto-West Germanic *karil + *-ing] + -ian. Reshaping of earlier Carlovingian, from Middle French Carlovingien, itself a misconstruction of Carlingien. By surface analysis, Caroling + -ian.

Words formed from Carolingian

Phrases with Carolingian

Words that rhyme with Carolingian

Questions about Carolingian

What does Carolingian mean?
Carolingian means of or pertaining to the Carolings, the members of a Frankish dynasty, descended from Charles Martel, which arose from the Pippinid and Arnulfingian clans in the 7th century and ruled parts of western Europe until the 9th century, reaching its peak under Martel's grandson Charlemagne.
What part of speech is Carolingian?
Carolingian can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce Carolingian?
Carolingian is pronounced /ˌkæ.ɹəˈlɪn.dʒɪ.ən/ (UK).

Words near Carolingian in the dictionary

  1. Caroline minuscules
  2. Caroline Springs
  3. caroliner
  4. carolines
  5. caroling
  6. Carolingian
  7. Carolingian cross
  8. Carolingian crosses
  9. Carolingian minuscule
  10. Carolingian minuscules
  11. Carolingianist

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Carolingian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Carolingian.wav.

Cite this entry: “Carolingian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/carolingian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.