It's always fun to see a word pop up that I've never seen before. This one could serve double-duty as a "clean" swear word, as it has such a satisfyingly harsh sound. (E.g., Bolshevik" is a favorite of mine in this genre.)

I'm surprised to see its I/E root, "sker," associated with "carnivorous" in the Etymology blurb. I would bet a steak dinner that "carnivorous" actually comes from "carne," which is of course Latin for "meat."

You're right, it does. And Latin carn- comes from Proto-Indo-European *sker-.

Cool, thanks for the further explanation of the root beneath the root. I guess that's the nature of roots--there's always another one further down.