chauffeur English · revision 2473

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɒˈfɜː/, /ˈʃəʊfə/ ''(UK)''; /ʃoʊˈfɝ/, /ˈʃoʊfɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|chauffeur|t=stoker]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|fr|chauffer|t=to heat]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline) [[der|fro|chaufer|t=to heat, warm]].^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A motorist (1896–1899).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In French ''chauffeur'' was the stoker of a steam engine, and it became a nickname for early motorists, since the first cars were steam-driven.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) The sense “a paid driver of a private car” appears in 1902,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the verb followed, dated 1902 by Etymonline and 1917 by the OED and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) In early 20th-century Britain ''shover'' was a joking anglicized form.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1896 – a motorist (Etymonline); 1899 in the OED and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1902 – a professional driver of a private car.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – ''chauffeuse'', a female chauffeur.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – verb, to drive a car or a person as a chauffeur.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person employed to drive a private or hired car.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To work as a driver for someone.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To transport someone by car.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chafe]]

+ * [[chafing dish]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}