carol: [13] English acquired carol from Old French carole, and the similarity of form and meaning naturally suggests that this in turn came from late Latin choraula ‘choral song’. In classical Latin times this had meant ‘person who accompanies a choir on a flute or reed instrument’, and it came from Greek khoraúlēs, a compound formed from khorós ‘choir’ (source of English chorus and choir) and aulos ‘reed instrument’.
However, the fact that the earliest recorded use of the word is for a dance in a ring, accompanied by singing, has led some etymologists to speculate that the underlying notion contained in it may be not ‘song’ but ‘circle’ (perhaps from Latin corolla ‘little crown, garland’). => choir, chorus
