A person who works at a carnival or traveling fair, operating rides, games, or attractions.
Shortened form of 'carnival worker,' emerging in American English around the early 1900s. The '-ie' suffix gives it an informal, colloquial quality that reflects the working-class origin of the term.
Carnies developed their own jargon (like 'marks' for customers and 'tilt' for cheating at games) so insular and coded that it's almost a secret language—linguists love studying carnie speak as an example of occupational slang creating group identity.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.