Etymologically
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caravan

Etymology and origin of the English word caravan

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Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Middle French caravane

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkæɹəvæn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French caravane[2][3][4] or Italian carovana,[2][5][6] or Medieval Latin caravana,[3][4] all from Persian کاروان (kārvān, “group of desert travellers”).[2][3][4][5][6] The word was picked up in the Crusades.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A company of merchants or pilgrims travelling together for safety in North Africa or western Asia (1588 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1599 in the OED).[3][5][7][4]

Semantic evolution

From a group of desert travellers the word spread to any large group of people travelling together (1660s),[4][7] and then to a large covered carriage for passengers (1670s).[4][7] Such vehicles were later used by travelling shows and as homes by Romani people.[4] In modern British English (from the 1930s) a caravan is roughly what Americans call a camper or trailer.[4][6] The short form van comes from caravan.[1]

Timeline

  • 1588 – a company of travellers in the East.[3][5]
  • 1667 – any troop of people travelling together.[7]
  • 1674 – a covered carriage or cart.[7][4]
  • 1885 – verb, to travel in a caravan.[7][5]
  • 1930s – British, a mobile home towed by a car.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A group of travellers journeying together, as across a desert or hostile territory.
  2. A line of vehicles or pack animals travelling together.
  3. A large covered vehicle; a van.
  4. (chiefly British) A trailer or mobile home.

Verb

  1. To travel in a caravan.

Word family

  • caravanist
  • caravansary
  • van
  • caravanserai

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Caravan.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/caravan. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·