Etymology

Formally this word belongs with ME carien, usually ‘to carry’ (etc.) and derives from Anglo-Fr carier ‘to carry; carry off; drive; act, behave’ (see AND).  But there was evidently confusion in later ME usage between this and the originally distinct kayre (1) < ON keyra, ‘to drive, ride, whip’ (usually derived from a PGmc *kaurjan- or *kauzjan-) whose meanings are sometimes also attached to carien (see Knott 1915: 106–7, TGD 734n, Luttrell 1955 and MED, followed by Vantuono n.). 

PGmc Ancestor

*kaurjan- or *kauzjan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

keyra ‘to drive, ride, whip’
(ONP keyra (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far koyra, Icel kayra, Norw køyra, Dan køre, Sw köra

OE Cognate

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

FC3

Attestation

Most of MED's nine citations in this sense (5) (which do not incl. Gaw) are from alliterative verse (incl. PP).

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 734

Sometimes emended to *cayrez at Gaw 734 (thus TG, GDS, Burrow, and Morris).

Bibliography

MED carien (v.) (sense 5) , OED carry (v.) (sense 23) , HTOED , Dance caryez, Bj. 64, AND carier (1), de Vries keyra, Mag. keyra, Kroonen *kaizwjan-, FEW carrus