Where does “motorcar” come from?
Motorcar combines English motor with car, which derives from Latin carrus, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱr̥sós meaning "to run."
motorcar (English): An enclosed passenger vehicle powered by an...
Definitions
- An enclosed passenger vehicle powered by an...
Ancestry of “motorcar”, step by step
motorcar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English car
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | car | A wheeled vehicle that moves independently, with... |
| 2 | Middle English | carre | cart, wagon |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | carre | cart |
| 4 | Latin | carra | — |
| 5 | Latin | carrus | a wagon, a four-wheeled baggage cart; a cartload,... |
| 6 | Gaulish | karros | wagon |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | karros | wagon |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱr̥sós | vehicle |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱers- | to run |
via English motor
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | motor | A machine or device that converts other energy... |
| 2 | Middle English | motour | — |
| 3 | Latin | motor | mover; that which moves something; first-person... |
| 4 | Latin | -tor | -er |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -tōr | Forms agent nouns to verb stems |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tōr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tor-s | — |