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hatchback

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Etymology and origin of the English word hatchback

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1970 New York Times More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origin
Old English hæc,bæc
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English hatch
English hatchback

Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈhæt͡ʃˌbæk/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound formed from English hatch + back.[2][3][4][5] Hatch, in its sense of an opening or door, goes back to Old English hæc (“fence, grating, gate”), from Proto-Germanic *hak-, a word of uncertain origin;[3] its use for an opening in a ship's deck is recorded from the mid-13th century.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both the upward-opening rear door and the car that has one are first recorded in 1970, the door in the New York Times and the car in Time.[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster Unabridged also date the word to 1970,[3][4] while Dictionary.com places it in 1965–70.[5]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the large rear door, hinged at the top and running across the full width of the car, and in the same year the compact car built with such a door.[2] Merriam-Webster describes the original hatchback as the back of a closed car such as a coupe, and then the car itself.[4] Dictionary.com gives liftback as another name for the same style.[5]

Timeline

  • 1970 – a large rear door on a car that opens upwards, hinged at the top.[2][3]
  • 1970 – a car with such a rear door.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A car with a sloping rear door, hinged at the top, that opens upwards to give access to the luggage space: They traded the saloon for a small hatchback.[6][2][7]
  2. The rear door itself, extending across the full width of the car.[2][4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
Cite this entry

“Hatchback.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/hatchback. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·