Basic Details
Word: Carpentry
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The skill or work of making and repairing wooden things, such as furniture, doors and roof frames.
Synonyms: woodwork, joinery, woodworking
How to Spell Carpentry
Syllables: car - pen - try
Tricky part: Carpenter drops its -er before -ry, so there is no e between t and r. The vowels are a, then e: car-pen.
Watch out for: carpentery, carpantry, carpentary
Memory tip: Take carpenter, cut off the -er, then add -ry: carpent + ry.
Usage Examples
Example 1: My uncle learned carpentry from his father in a small workshop in Saharanpur.
Example 2: We have a carpentry class every Thursday where we make bird feeders.
Example 3: Good carpentry needs patience, careful measuring and sharp tools.
Fun Fact
Carpenter comes from Latin carpentarius, a maker of carriages, from carpentum, a two-wheeled carriage. So the first carpenters were really wagon builders.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. carpentery 2. furniture 3. varnish 4. chisel
a) a tool with a sharp flat edge for cutting wood or stone
b) the work of making and repairing wooden things
c) a clear liquid painted on wood to give a hard, shiny coat
d) chairs, tables, beds and similar movable things in a room
Show answer
b) the work of making and repairing wooden things. Carpentery is misspelt: when carpenter becomes carpentry the -er disappears.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to carpentry as used in the sentence:
The carved doors of the old haveli show some of the finest carpentry in the town.
a) embroidery
b) pottery
c) masonry
d) woodwork
Show answer
d) woodwork. Carpentry is work in wood; masonry is work in stone and pottery in clay.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Raghav spent the holidays learning rtyncrape from a craftsman in his village.
a) carpentry
b) pantry
c) carpenter
d) carpeting
Show answer
a) carpentry. Carpenter is the person and carpentry is the craft; the y in the jumble points to the craft.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
c_rp_ntry
a) a, a
b) e, e
c) o, e
d) a, e
Show answer
d) a, e. Car-pen-try: the a of car and the e of pen.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these jobs is carpentry?
a) baking bread for a shop
b) painting a portrait
c) weaving a silk sari
d) fitting a new wooden door frame
Show answer
d) fitting a new wooden door frame
2. Which tool is used mostly in carpentry?
a) a ladle
b) an easel
c) a plane
d) a stethoscope
Show answer
c) a plane
