car English · revision 2026

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1301 (in the surname Careman)|origins=ine-pro *kers-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /kɑː/, US /kɑːr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|carre]], [[bor|fro-nor|carre]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-vul|*carra]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) related to [[la|carrum]] or [[m|la|carrus|t=two-wheeled wagon, Celtic war chariot]] (plural [[m|la|carra]]).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) The Latin word is of Celtic origin, from [[xtg|karros]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and its Celtic relatives include [[sga|carr|t=wagon, chariot]], [[cy|car]] and [[br|karr|t=chariot]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966) Etymonline and Watkins trace it to [[ine-pro|*kers-|t=to run]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the root of [[m|la|currere|t=to run]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) The same Latin word gave [[fr|char]], [[it|carro]] and [[es|carro]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A wheeled vehicle, a cart or wagon: first in the surname ''Careman'' (1301), then about 1350 in a psalter.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 16th to the 19th century ''car'' was chiefly a poetic word, carrying associations of dignity, solemnity or splendour, as in a funeral car.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) In the United States it was used of railway freight wagons by 1826, passenger carriages by 1830 and streetcars by 1862,^(Etymonline) and ''the cars'' meant a railway train from 1831 into the early 20th century.^(Etymonline) The basket of a balloon has been a ''car'' since 1783.^(HTOED) The word was first applied to the motor car in 1896,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) although self-propelled road vehicles had existed since the steam carriage of 1769.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Car bomb'' is from 1972, in Northern Ireland.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1301 – in the surname ''Careman''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1350 – any wheeled vehicle.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1783 – the car of a balloon.^(HTOED)

+ * 1826 – a railway wagon (US).^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+ * 1830 – a railway passenger carriage (US).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – a streetcar.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1896 – a motor car.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1972 – ''car bomb''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[automobile]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A vehicle that runs on rails, such as a [[streetcar]] or railway carriage.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # The enclosure that carries passengers or goods in a lift or [[cable car]].^(AHD)

+ # The part of a [[balloon]] or [[airship]] that carries people and cargo.^(AHD)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(literary)'' A [[chariot]], carriage or cart.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[carless]]

+ * [[carsickness]]

+ * [[carfare]]

+ * [[carman]]

+ * [[carbarn]]

+ * [[carful]]

+ * [[carhop]]

+ * [[carjacking]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[carriage]]

+ * [[chariot]]

+ * [[career]]

+ * [[cargo]]

+ * [[carry]]

+ * [[charge]]

+ * [[current]]

+ * [[caricature]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Scots has a separate ''car'' meaning “left, left-handed”, from Scottish Gaelic ''cearr''.^(RHWU)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}