Where does “streetcar” come from?
Streetcar derives from English car, which comes from Proto-Germanic karzijaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gers-, a root also found in Latin carrus and Gaulish karros.
streetcar (English): A tram or light rail vehicle, usually a single...
Definitions
- A tram or light rail vehicle, usually a single...
Ancestry of “streetcar”, step by step
streetcar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English street
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | street | A paved part of road, usually in a village or a... |
| 2 | Middle English | strete | A road or path connecting two settlements or... |
| 3 | Old English | strǣt | road; a road, a town-road, a street, a paved... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | strātu | street, paved road |
| 5 | Latin | strāta | a paved road |
| 6 | Latin | strātus | — |
| 7 | Latin | sternō | to spread, stretch out, spread out |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | stornō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | str̥-n-h₃- | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | sterh₃- | to spread, extend, stretch out |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ster- | sterile, infertile |
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 |