Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to gather, pluck, harvest."
It forms all or part of: carpe diem; carpel; carpet; carpo- (1) "fruit;" excerpt; harvest; scarce; scarcity.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit krpana- "sword," krpani "shears;" Greek karpos "fruit," karpizomai "make harvest of;" Latin carpere "to cut, divide, pluck;" Lithuanian kerpu, kirpti "to cut;" Middle Irish cerbaim "cut;" Old English hærfest "autumn."