limousine English · revision 1958

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌlɪməˈziːn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|limousine]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) a kind of cloak, named after Limousin, a region of central France.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The region's name comes from Latin ''Lemovicinus'', from the ''Lemovices'', a people who lived there.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A motor car with an enclosed passenger compartment and a driver's seat outside it, under a projecting roof (1902).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In French ''limousine'' was a cloak of wool or goat's hair worn by carters (from 1836),^(Barnhart 1995) or by shepherds of the Limousin.^(RHWU) Around 1900 the name passed to a car, perhaps because its profile resembled the hood worn in the region.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Since the 1930s it has meant a luxury car in American English,^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) and from 1959 a vehicle carrying passengers to and from an airport.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) ''Limousine liberal'', a wealthy liberal, is from 1969.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The short form is [[limo]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1836 – French, a carter's cloak.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1902 – a car with an enclosed passenger compartment.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1930s – a luxury car.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+ * 1959 – an airport vehicle.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+ * 1969 – ''limousine liberal''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A large, luxurious car, usually driven by a chauffeur, often with a partition behind the driver.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A large car, van or small bus carrying passengers to and from an airport.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[limo]]

+ * [[limousine liberal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chauffeur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}