Mainstream american usage is to call an automobile a ‘car,' with the definite article used before the word, but colloquially in england it would be unusual for someone to say “i'm going down to my car.”
some people might use the vehicle's true noun property because they believe that cars are so deeply embedded in our lives. alternatives include this type of argument suggested by linguist david crystal: cars can come and go at their owner's bidding, so there is no need for naming them e.g., farmer brown has just driven away in his carriage. it must be known because everyone can see it passing down lanes or roads. however, evidence points out that although cars are very important symbolic objects to us,
when did automobiles start being called cars?
the word “car” first appeared around the 17th century.
the oxford english dictionary states that it comes from either the old italian “carro,” which meant “wheeled vehicle for carrying goods” or the old norse form of the dutch word waggon, “karra.” early forms of these words also show up in spanish and french. the first evidence of car being used to describe a motor-powered vehicle fitted with wheels is from 1895, when it was used to describe an invention by german inventors karl benz and gottlieb daimler. derived from these three potential origins are two compelling explanations for how car became its name—both originating as abbreviations that are easier to say.
firstly,
why do we call the automobile a car?
while many people assume the word “car” comes from the czech, french, italian words for “carrying cart” or some derivative thereof, this is not actually where the word originated. originally it came from old english, and simply meant “a wheeled vehicle.”
this term replaced earlier terms of carriage or wagon which also referred to a wheeled vehicle. however the more these words were used they began to be attributed with meanings that designated their parts more specifically than just referring to a wide category of vehicles that were pulled by horses. the original form of these words was as kar (n) and then as such gradually evolved into meaning something like “wheel-vehicle” in modern language. car has its origins
is car and automobile the same thing?
yes, car is the american term for automobile.
what is the word car short for?
car can be short for both “carcinogen” and “carbon monoxide”.
carbon monoxide is a gas produced by the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. due to this, cars and car exhaust contribute to carbon monoxide in the atmosphere.
carcinogens are chemical substances that may produce cancer or other diseases in life forms (e.g., animals, plants). automobile exhaust contains several carcinogenic compounds including benzene which is classified as a group 1 carcinogen by the international agency for research on cancer (iarc) and formaldehyde which is classified by iarc as “carcinogenic to humans.”
the use of any type of artificial
