Carry

In Southern and Appalachian speech, carry can mean either "to have in stock or sell" or "to take or transport someone somewhere." The first sense became common nationwide, while the second remains distinctly Southern.

#SouthernWords #Appalachia #OldTimers #Southern

synonyms: stock, transport

Hillbilly Dude Says...

You'll hear 'carry' used both ways around here, but that second one’s mostly old timers nowadays.

Hillbilly Dude Says...

You'll hear 'carry' used both ways around here, but that second one’s mostly old timers nowadays.

Pronunciation

[KEH-ree] or [KUH-ree]
/ˈkɛɹ.i/ or /ˈkʌɹ.i/

Meaning & Usage

- To have in stock / sell (verb)

Mae:

Do y’all carry any more of that lye soap?

Earl:

Nope. We ain’t carried that brand in years.

- To take or transport someone somewhere (verb)

Elmer:

He carried me down to the store for feed.

Estel:

That was right kind of him.

variations: carried, carrying

★ If someone says they’ll "carry you to town," don’t expect a piggyback ride - they just mean they’ll give you a lift. ★

Origin and Etymology

The verb "carry" came from Old French carier and Old English cearian, meaning "to transport." In the American South, it took on broader senses: first for physically taking someone somewhere, then for merchants describing what they "carried" in their store. The latter sense - "to have in stock" - spread from Southern mercantile English in the 1800s and later became standard business language nationwide.

Usage Notes

In rural or older Appalachian talk, "carry" for transport is still heard ("He carried me home"), though it’s fading among younger speakers. The sell/stock meaning remains alive and well across the U.S., especially in small-town and Southern business settings.

Carry (to sell) - "Do y’all carry tobacco?" → "Do you have it in stock?"
Carry (to transport) - "He carried me to the store." → "He took me to the store."

Kin Topics

Common Questions

Is "carry" Southern?

The "have in stock" meaning started in the South and spread nationally. The "transport someone" sense remains mostly Southern.

Do people still say "He carried me to..."?

Yes, but mostly in older or rural Southern speech.

Is "carry" instead of "sell" wrong?

Not at all. It’s completely standard English now, though the phrasing came from Southern trade talk.

Where would you still hear the older sense?

In small towns and rural areas across the South - especially among older speakers.

How to Cite This Page

APA (7th edition)
The Hillbilly Dude. (2025, November 9). Carry. HillbillySlang.com. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/carry
MLA (9th edition)
"The Hillbilly Dude." "Carry." HillbillySlang.com, 9 Nov. 2025, https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/carry.
Chicago (17th edition)
The Hillbilly Dude. "Carry." HillbillySlang.com. November 9, 2025. https://www.hillbillyslang.com/definitions/carry.