Meaning

adjective of or relating to either of the two major arteries supplying blood to the head and neck

originBorrowed from French carotide or New Latin carōtides, from Ancient Greek κᾰρωτῐ́δες (kărōtĭ́des, “carotid arteries”), from κᾰρόω (kăróō, “to plunge into deep sleep or torpor”) + -τῐ́δες (-tĭ́des, plural nominal suffix), from the fact that the carotid artery supplies blood to the brain, and interruption of this flow causes loss of consciousness.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0