CARRIAGE, a general term for vehicles of all sorts, especially wheeled vehicles; in a narrower sense confined to those vehicles that carry persons only, for pleasure or business. The carriage is as old as the wheel. The first man who cut two slices from a tree-trunk and mounted them on an axle was the builder of the first carriage. The early Egyptians and Assyrians knew how to make wheels, as evi denced by carvings on their monuments. Some of these show a wheel made with tire and spokes, a construction indicating considerable mechanical knowledge.
Wheels held in place by wooden pins in the axle, a pole to which the horses were attached, and a rude box open at the rear, constituted the early chariots. These and the primitive carts were always two-wheeled. Four-wheeled car riages came into use with the formation of comparatively smooth roads, being ill adapted to rough and unkept highways. The earliest vehicles were made almost wholly of wood, pinned together, the holes being often burned Buggy, a light carriage with either two or four wheels, and with or without a top.
Cab (short for cabriolet, but of more gen eral meaning), a carriage licensed to carry pas sengers for hire, usually closed, with an outer driver's seat.
Cabriolet, a two-wheeled (later four wheeled), two-seated, covered carriage with falling top.
Calash, or Caliche, a two-wheeled carriage with a falling or folding top, a seat for two passengers and a narrow seat on the dashboard for the driver; much used in Canada. The top itself is also called a calash.
Car, (1) An automobile with two or more seats; (2) a railway carriage; (3) a carriage of unusual magnificence, as for use in a proces sion; (4) a van; (5) one of various special forms of vehicle, as the Irish jaunting-car.
Carryall, a four-wheeled covered carriage, light and commodious, having two or more seats.
Cart, (1) a two-wheeled, light, topless pleas ure vehicle; (2) a heavy two-wheeled spring less vehicle, with a strong box, for carrying rough material.
Chaise, originally a two-wheeled, one-horse vehicle with a top, the body being hung on straps; later, a light, topless, four-wheeled car riage of varying construction.
Chariot, the early two-wheeled war-carriage; also a light 18th-century coach, with one inner seat and a driver's seat.
Coach, a four-wheeled covered carriage of large size, having two or more inner seats and one or more outside — a tally-ho; also, a two seated four-wheeled cab, or large hack.
Coupe, a four-wheeled carriage, low-bodied, with an outer driver's seat.
Curricle, a simple form of two-wheeled two horse carriage.
Dog-cart, a light pleasure cart with back to-back seats, the rear seat covering a box to carry a dog or dogs.
Drag, a form of coach or tally-ho, some times uncovered.
Drosky, a long-bodied, four-wheeled Rus sian carriage. In its primitive form the body is a plank on which the passengers ride astride; also, in some European cities, a public hack.
Flom, the French name for a public cab.
Gig, a very light, small-bodied, two-wheeled, one-horse vehicle, with seat for one.
Hack, a hackney coach; loosely, any cab. Hackney Coach, a four-wheeled coach kept for hire.
Hansom, or Hansom Cab, a two-wheeled, low-bodied, one-horse, covered carriage, hav ing a single seat closed in with front doors, and a seat for the driver behind.
Jaunting-Car, a light two-wheeled, some times four-wheeled, vehicle having a perch in front for the driver, and longitudinal seats extend over the wheels, and a well between them for baggage.
Landau, a coach-like vehicle having a top, the forward part of which is removable and the rear part folding.
a one-seated landau.
Omnibus, a four-wheeled covered carriage with long body, seats running longitudinally, a rear door with steps; often with seats on the roof.
Phaeton, a light pleasure carriage of vary ing construction, usually low-bodied.
Rockaway, a four-wheeled pleasure carriage with two seats and permanent top.