rickshaw

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɹɪkˌʃɔː/^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortened form of jinrikisha (1873),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} which is borrowed from Japanese jinrikisha, from jin (“man”), riki (“power”) and sha (“carriage”).^[3] The elements are said to be ultimately from Chinese,^[3] and Watkins suggests that the Old Chinese word for a wheeled vehicle may come from Indo-European, perhaps by way of Tocharian.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A small two-wheeled carriage drawn by a man (1885 in Etymonline; 1887 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^[3][5][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The vehicle was first used in Japan.^[4] Etymonline notes that a ghost story by Kipling, who spelled it ’rickshaw, helped popularize the word.^[3][7] It came to be used in many parts of Asia,^[6] and the name was extended to a three-wheeled vehicle pedalled like a tricycle, the cycle rickshaw or trishaw,^[6][8] and to the motorized autorickshaw.^[6]

Timeline

• 1873 – jinrikisha.^[3]
• 1885 – rickshaw (Etymonline).^[3]
• 1887 – first quotation in the OED.^[5][2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small two-wheeled passenger vehicle pulled by one person, used originally in Japan and later in other parts of Asia; a jinrikisha.
2. A similar three-wheeled vehicle propelled by pedalling; a trishaw.

Verb

1. To carry someone by rickshaw.

Word family

• trishaw

Related words

• jinriksha
• jinrikisha
• pedicab
• autorickshaw

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
8. ^ Evans, Tom (1997), A Dictionary of Japanese Loanwords, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press