Carton, Cartoon and Card Are the Same Word
A carton is a cardboard box. Its relatives include cartoon, cartridge and chart, all built on the word for paper.
A carton is a light box made of cardboard. The family is larger than it looks: *cartoon* originally meant a full-size drawing on stiff paper made in preparation for a painting, *cartridge* was a paper tube holding powder, and *chart* and *card* come from the same Latin *charta*, paper. All of them are paper products at heart.
- A cardboard box. *A milk carton.*
- Its contents. *A carton of eggs.*
- Carton as a modifier. *Carton packaging.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | carton | An empty carton. |
| Plural | cartons | Stacked cartons. |
| Related | cardboard | A cardboard box. |
| Related | cartoon | A newspaper cartoon. |
| Related | cartridge | An ink cartridge. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A carton of orange juice.Container and contents.
- A cartoon was once a preparatory drawing.Art history.
- Cartridges were paper before they were brass.Firearms history.
Words from *charta*, paper
- Card — stiff paper
- Chart — a sheet of information
- Charter — a written grant of rights
- Cartoon — a full-size drawing on paper
- Cartography — map-making
From French *carton*, from Italian *cartone*, heavy paper, from *carta*, from Latin *charta*, a sheet of papyrus.
Why is a funny drawing called a cartoon?
The word meant a full-size preparatory drawing. Punch magazine used it satirically in 1843 for mock designs, and the humorous sense stuck.
Carton or cardboard box?
A carton is usually lighter and often holds liquid or food. Cardboard box is the general term.