caravan English · revision 2084

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkæɹəvæn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|caravane]]^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) or [[it|carovana]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) or Medieval Latin ''caravana'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) all [[der|fa|کاروان|tr=kārvān|t=group of desert travellers]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The word was picked up in the Crusades.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A company of merchants or pilgrims travelling together for safety in North Africa or western Asia (1588 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1599 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From a group of desert travellers the word spread to any large group of people travelling together (1660s),^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and then to a large covered carriage for passengers (1670s).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Such vehicles were later used by travelling shows and as homes by Romani people.^(Etymonline) In modern British English (from the 1930s) a caravan is roughly what Americans call a camper or trailer.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The short form [[van]] comes from ''caravan''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1588 – a company of travellers in the East.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1667 – any troop of people travelling together.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1674 – a covered carriage or cart.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1885 – verb, to travel in a caravan.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1930s – British, a mobile home towed by a car.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A group of travellers journeying together, as across a desert or hostile territory.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A line of vehicles or pack animals travelling together.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A large covered vehicle; a van.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A trailer or mobile home.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To travel in a caravan.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[caravanist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[caravansary]]

+ * [[van]]

+ * [[caravanserai]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}