CARRIER
Car"ri*er, n. Etym: [From Carry.]
1. One who, or that which, carries or conveys; a messenger. The air which is but . . . a carrier of the sounds. Bacon.
2. One who is employed, or makes it his business, to carry goods for others for hire; a porter; a teamster. The roads are crowded with carriers, laden with rich manufactures. Swift.
3. (Mach.)
Defn: That which drives or carries; as: (a) A piece which communicates to an object in a lathe the motion of the face plate; a lathe dog. (b) A spool holder or bobbin holder in a braiding machine. (c) A movable piece in magazine guns which transfers the cartridge to a position from which it can be thrust into the barrel. Carrier pigeon (Zoöl.), a variety of the domestic pigeon used to convey letters from a distant point to to its home. — Carrier shell (Zoöl.), a univalve shell of the genus Phorus; — so called because it fastens bits of stones and broken shells to its own shell, to such an extent as almost to conceal it. — Common carrier (Law.) See under Common, a.
CARRION Car"ri*on, n. Etym: [OE. caroyne, OF. caroigne, F. charogne, LL. caronia, fr. L. caro flesh Cf. Crone, Crony.]
1. The dead and putrefying body or flesh of an animal; flesh so corrupted as to be unfit for food. They did eat the dead carrions. Spenser.
2. A contemptible or worthless person; — a term of reproach. [Obs.] "Old feeble carrions." Shak.
CARRION
Car"ri*on, a.
Defn: Of or pertaining to dead and putrefying carcasses; feeding on carrion. A prey for carrion kites. Shak. Carrion beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle that feeds habitually on dead animals; — also called sexton beetle and burying beetle. There are many kinds, belonging mostly to the family Silphidæ. — Carrion buzzard (Zoöl.), a South American bird of several species and genera (as Ibycter, Milvago, and Polyborus), which act as scavengers. See Caracara. — Carrion crow, the common European crow (Corvus corone) which feeds on carrion, insects, fruits, and seeds.