charabanc
English
WOTD – 9 November 2009
Charabanc.
Etymology
Borrowed from French char-à-bancs (“a carriage with benches”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈʃæ.ɹə.bæŋ(k)/
Noun
charabanc (plural charabancs)
- (Britain) A horse-drawn, and then later, motorized omnibus with open sides, and often, no roof.
- 1931, Francis Beeding, “2/2”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
- A little further on, to the right, was a large garage, where the charabancs stood, half in and half out of the yard.
- 2006 Aug 7 & 14, John Updike, “Late Works”, in The New Yorker, page 70:
- The cumbersome though finely painted charabanc of the late James style is pulled swaying along by a frisky pony of a plot farcical and romantic.
-
Synonyms
- chara (short form)
Translations
a horse-drawn, and then later, motorized omnibus with open sides, and often, no roof
|
|
Further reading
Verb
charabanc (third-person singular simple present charabancs, present participle charabancing, simple past and past participle charabanced)
- (rare, transitive, intransitive) To travel or convey by charabanc.
References
- World Wide Words
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from French char-à-bancs (“a carriage with benches”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sjarəbanɡ/, [ɕɑɑˈb̥ɑŋ]
Noun
charabanc c (singular definite charabancen or charabanc'en, plural indefinite charabancer or charabanc'er)
- charabanc
Inflection
Declension of charabanc
| common gender | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | charabanc | charabancen charabanc'en | charabancer charabanc'er | charabancerne charabanc'erne |
| genitive | charabancs | charabancens charabanc'ens | charabancers charabanc'ers | charabancernes charabanc'ernes |