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kart

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Etymology and origin of the English word kart

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1959 Motor

Pronunciation

  • US: /kɑɹt/[1]

Etymology

It is a clipping of go-kart.[2][3][4][5] The American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster take it as probably from “GoKart”, a trademark;[6][7] the OED notes that “Go Kart” was used as a brand name from 1958 to 1962 by the Go Kart Manufacturing Company of Azusa, California.[2] Go-kart itself is an alteration of go-cart,[2][7] with kart an alteration of cart according to the Oxford Dictionary of English,[4] and Dictionary.com calls kart an American spelling variant of cart.[8] The older go-cart is formed from go and cart.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A go-kart: 1959, in the magazine Motor.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1957, in American English,[3] Merriam-Webster to 1961,[7] and Dictionary.com to 1955–60.[8]

Semantic evolution

The older word go-cart was first a baby walker (1649), then a litter or sedan chair (1676), a handcart (1759), a light horse-drawn carriage (1824) and various small motorized vehicles (1915).[2][3] In 1957 go-kart was applied to a small racing car with a skeleton body and a two-stroke engine,[2][3] and kart is the shortened name of that vehicle.[2][5] The sport of racing them is karting.[5]

Timeline

  • 1649 – go-cart, a baby walker.[2]
  • 1957 – go-kart, a small racing car.[2]
  • 1959 – kart, a go-kart.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small, light, low-framed motor vehicle with small wheels and a simple frame, used for racing and recreation; a go-kart.[9][7][2]

Word family

  • karting

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Kart.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/kart. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·