I. ˈkärpəntə(r), ˈkȧp-, -p ə mt- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old North French carpentier, from Latin carpentarius carriage maker, from carpentarius of a carriage, from carpentum carriage, wagon, of Celtic origin; akin to Gaulish place name Carbantia
1. : a workman who builds with wood:
a. : a workman who shapes and assembles structural woodwork especially in the construction of buildings, stage settings, ships, tunnels, and mines
b. : a workman who cuts, fits, and installs floors, windows, doors, baseboards, cabinets, and other trim work — called also finish carpenter
c. : one who works at a bench in an industrial establishment making and assembling wood sections of boxes or furniture according to blueprints — called also bench carpenter
2.
a. : a petty officer on merchant ships who attends to repairs not made by engineers
b. : a warrant officer in the United States Navy whose chief shipboard duties are hull maintenance and damage control
II. verb
( carpentered ; carpentered ; carpentering -pəntəriŋ, -n.triŋ, -p ə mt(ə)riŋ ; carpenters )
intransitive verb
: to do carpentry : follow the trade of a carpenter
he carpentered in his youth, then graduated to heavy construction work — John Kobler
transitive verb
1. : to make by or as if by carpentry
a doctor carpentered a splint for the broken arm — Frederick Way
2. : to put together often in a mechanical manner
I've carpentered dozens of scripts but this is cabinetmaking — Clemence Dane
: construct
is well carpentered, easily written, and well calculated to shorten a train ride — Time