Car"pen*ter (?), n. [OF.
carpentier, F. charpentier, LL.
carpentarius, fr. L. carpentum wagon, carriage.]
An artificer who works in timber; a framer and builder of
houses, ships, etc.
Syn. -- Carpenter, Joiner. The
carpenter frames and puts together roofs, partitions,
floors, and other structural parts of a building. The
joiner supplies stairs, doors shutters, mantelpieces,
cupboards, and other parts necessary to finishing the building.
In America the two trades are commonly united.
Carpenter ant (Zoöl.), any
species of ant which gnaws galleries in the wood of trees and
constructs its nests therein. They usually select dead or
somewhat decayed wood. The common large American species is
Formica Pennsylvanica. -- Carpenter
bee (Zoöl.), a large hymenopterous
insect of the genus Xylocopa; -- so called because it
constructs its nest by gnawing long galleries in sound timber.
The common American species is Xylocopa
Virginica.