tram English · revision 927

11 Oct 2026, 02:39 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /tɹæm/; /tɹam/ ''(UK)''^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a Scots word, probably borrowed from Middle Flemish ''tram'' “beam, handle of a barrow, rung”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a North Sea Germanic word of unknown origin related to Low German ''traam'' “beam”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The unrelated ''tram'' meaning silk thread is from Old French ''traime'' “weft”, from Latin ''trāma''.^(AHD)^(RHWU)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ One of the shafts of a barrow or cart (1500–20).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In coal mining a ''tram'' was a frame or truck for carrying coal (1516–17).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The word was then used of the track of timber or iron rails on which such trucks ran (1826),^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) which gave ''tramway'' and ''tram-car'' (1873).^(Etymonline) The sense “passenger streetcar running on rails in the street” is recorded by 1879,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) and it is the usual British word where American English says ''streetcar'' or ''trolley''.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1500–20 – the shaft of a barrow or cart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1516–17 – a coal truck in a mine.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)
+ * 1826 – a track of rails; a tramway.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)
+ * 1873 – ''tram-car''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1879 – a streetcar.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A passenger vehicle running on rails laid in the street; a [[streetcar]] or [[trolley]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A car of an aerial [[cable car]] system.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # An open wagon running on rails in a mine.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A heavy silk thread used for the weft in fine fabrics.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ===Verb===
+ # To travel or convey by tram.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[tramcar]]
+ * [[tramline]]
+ * [[tramway]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[trolley]]
+ * [[streetcar]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}