Etymologically
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← History of véhicule

véhicule French · revision 15991

17 Oct 2026, 21:34 by bogdan “Add missing citations” current version
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==Semantic evolution==
− In 1551 a glossary to a translation of Leone Ebreo defines it as ''Chariot. Brouette, ou tel instrument propre à porter et conduire'';^(BHVF)^(TLFi) Bloch and Wartburg note that the concrete sense “carriage” spread only about 1816, the word having been used before in technical senses.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It now names any means of land transport (''véhicule hippomobile'', 1898, ''véhicule utilitaire''), and in a wider sense also spacecraft.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)
+ In 1551 a glossary to a translation of Leone Ebreo defines it as a cart, a barrow or any instrument for carrying;^(BHVF)^(TLFi) Bloch and Wartburg note that the concrete sense “carriage” spread only about 1816, the word having been used before in technical senses.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It now names any means of land transport (''véhicule hippomobile'', 1898, ''véhicule utilitaire''), and in a wider sense also spacecraft.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)
From about 1660 (Bossuet) it was what serves to communicate, as in ''la langue, véhicule de la pensée'', and in physics the medium carrying light (1694).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In painting it is a medium for colours (1808–1812).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In 1849 it rendered Sanskrit ''yāna'' in ''Grand Véhicule'' and ''Petit Véhicule'', the two schools of Buddhism.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The verb ''véhiculer'' dates from 1835.^(DHLF 1992)