carrière (Dutch)
Where does "carrière" come from?
The Dutch word 'carrière' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *ḱers-, meaning 'to run,' which eventually evolved into the Latin 'carrus,' a term for a wagon. This transitioned into Late Latin as 'via carraria', a road fit for carts, before evolving through Italian and French to represent a racecourse or a path for vehicles. Over time, the word shifted metaphorically from a track for movement to the course of one's professional life, resulting in our modern usage.
Full etymology tree
- carrière (Dutch), 'career, a person's occupation(s)'
- borrowed carrière (French), 'racecourse'
- inherited carriere (Middle French), 'career'
- borrowed carreira (Old Occitan)
- inherited carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- compound via (Latin), 'road, street, path'
- compound carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- derived carrus (Latin), 'a wagon, a two-wheeled baggage cart'
- borrowed *karros (Gaulish), 'wagon'
- inherited *karros (Proto-Celtic), 'wagon'
- inherited *ḱr̥sós (Proto-Indo-European), 'vehicle, literally runner'
- derived *ḱers- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to run'
- inherited *ḱr̥sós (Proto-Indo-European), 'vehicle, literally runner'
- inherited *karros (Proto-Celtic), 'wagon'
- borrowed *karros (Gaulish), 'wagon'
- derived carrus (Latin), 'a wagon, a two-wheeled baggage cart'
- inherited carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- borrowed carriera (Italian), 'career'
- inherited carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- compound via (Latin), 'road, street, path'
- compound carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- derived carrus (Latin), 'a wagon, a two-wheeled baggage cart'
- borrowed *karros (Gaulish), 'wagon'
- inherited *karros (Proto-Celtic), 'wagon'
- inherited *ḱr̥sós (Proto-Indo-European), 'vehicle, literally runner'
- derived *ḱers- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to run'
- inherited *ḱr̥sós (Proto-Indo-European), 'vehicle, literally runner'
- inherited *karros (Proto-Celtic), 'wagon'
- borrowed *karros (Gaulish), 'wagon'
- derived carrus (Latin), 'a wagon, a two-wheeled baggage cart'
- inherited carrāria (Latin), 'a wide road for vehicles; a path for carts ; the descendants have the meaning ”path, footpath”'
- borrowed carreira (Old Occitan)
- inherited carriere (Middle French), 'career'
- borrowed carrière (French), 'racecourse'
Ancestors
- carrière (French)
- carriera (Italian)
Descendants and derived words
- muziekcarrière (Dutch)
- portfoliocarrière (Dutch)
- karier (Indonesian)
- karier (Indonesian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris