car

• (UK) IPA^(key): /kɑː/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /kɑɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Homophones: carr, Carr, Karr

From Middle English carre, a borrowing from Anglo-Norman carre (from Old Northern French, compare Old French char), from Latin carra, neuter plural of carrus (“four-wheeled baggage wagon”), from Gaulish *karros, from Proto-Celtic *karros (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós, zero-grade form of *ḱers- (“to run”).

car (plural cars)

1. A wheeled vehicle that moves independently, with at least three wheels, powered mechanically, steered by a driver and mostly for personal transportation; a motorcar or automobile.

   She drove her car to the mall.

   • 2005, Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, and Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), “Stay Fly”, in Most Known Unknown‎, Sony BMG, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG):

     I'm a stunt; ride in the car with some bump in the trunk.

   • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion‎:

     If successful, Edison and Ford—in 1914—would move society away from the ever more expensive and then universally known killing hazards of gasoline cars: […] .

2. (dated) A wheeled vehicle, drawn by a horse or other animal; a chariot.
   • 1594, Christopher Marlowe, Edward II, London: William Jones,

     It shall suffice me to enioy your loue,

     Which whiles I haue, I thinke my selfe as great,

     As Caesar riding in the Romaine streete,

     With captiue kings at his triumphant Carre.

   • c. 1606, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, Scene 8,

     He has deserved it [armour], were it carbuncled

     Like holy Phoebus’ car.

   1. (Britain, Birmingham, obsolete) A four-wheeled cab, as opposed to a (two-wheeled) Hansom cab.
3. (rail transport, chiefly Canada, US) An unpowered unit in a railroad train.

   The conductor coupled the cars to the locomotive.

4. (rail transport) an individual vehicle, powered or unpowered, in a multiple unit.

   The 11:10 to London was operated by a 4-car diesel multiple unit.

5. (rail transport) A passenger-carrying unit in a subway or elevated train, whether powered or not.

   From the frontmost car of the subway, he filmed the progress through the tunnel.

6. A rough unit of quantity approximating the amount which would fill a railroad car.

   We ordered five hundred cars of gypsum.

7. The moving, load-carrying component of an elevator or other cable-drawn transport mechanism.

   Fix the car of the express elevator - the door is sticking.

8. The passenger-carrying portion of certain amusement park rides, such as Ferris wheels.

   The most exciting part of riding a Ferris wheel is when your car goes over the top.

9. The part of an airship, such as a balloon or dirigible, which houses the passengers and control apparatus.
   • 1850, John Wise, A System of Aeronautics, page 152:

     Everything being apparently in readiness now, I stepped into the car of the balloon, […]

10. (sailing) A sliding fitting that runs along a track.
    • 1995, Ken Textor, The New Book of Sail Trim‎, →ISBN, page 201:

      On boats 25 feet or more, it is best to mount a mast car and track on the front of the mast so you can adjust the height of the pole above the deck

11. (uncountable, US, slang) The aggregate of desirable characteristics of a car.

    Buy now! You can get more car for your money.

12. (US) A floating perforated box for living fish.

• (private vehicle that moves independently): auto, motorcar, vehicle; automobile (US), motor (British colloquial), carriage (obsolete)
• (non-powered part of a train): railcar, wagon
• (unit of quantity): carload, wagonload
• (passenger-carrying light rail unit): carriage
• (part of an airship): gondola, basket (balloons only)
• See also Thesaurus:automobile

• carriage
• chariot

• bus
• truck
• van

Etymology unclear, but probably from Proto-Germanic *karzijaną (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *gers- (“to bend, turn”). See also cair (“to turn, go”), char (“a turn; a task (a turn of work); to turn; to cause to turn”), Dutch keren (“to turn, change direction”) and German Kehre (“a turn, change of direction; a U-turn, bend”). Shakespeare had something of a fondness for verbalizing nouns, and sometimes even substantivizing verbs. However, anything other than a "turn" does not seem to make any sense within the broader context of the cited Sonnet.

car (plural cars)

1. (obsolete) A turn.
   • 1609 William Shakespeare, Sonnet 7,

     But when from highmost pitch, with weary car,

     Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day, (after the sun reaches the zenith it, with a weary turn, begins to reel (“to roll”) (downwards))

Acronym of contents of the address part of register number. Note that it was based on original hardware and has no meaning today.

Diagram for the list (42 69 613). The car of the first cons is 42, and the cdr points the next cons.

car (plural cars)

1. (computing) The first part of a cons in LISP. The first element of a list
   • Matt Kaufmann, Panagiotis Manolios, and J Strother Moore, Computer-aided reasoning: an approach, 2000 :

     The elements of a list are the successive cars along the "cdr chain." That is, the elements are the car, the car of the cdr, the car of the cdr of the cdr, etc.

• cdr

• cadr
• caddr

• cons
• LISP

• 
  A hydrogen-powered car.
• 
  Freight cars.
• 
  A self-propelled passenger car.
• 
  Ferris wheel cars.
• 
  Car on a sailboat.
• 
  Car of a Zeppelin.
• 
  Elevator cars.

• ARC, RAC, RCA, acr-, arc, arc-, rac-

• caru

From Latin carrus, from Gaulish karros. Compare Romanian car.

car n (plural cari)

1. chariot
2. ox-cart

• cãrutsã/carotsã
• cãrutsar
• caretã
• cherã

car

1. mouth

From Latin cārus.

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈkar/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈkaɾ/
• Rhymes: -aɾ

car (feminine cara, masculine plural cars, feminine plural cares)

1. expensive
2. (poetic) dear

From Old Church Slavonic цѣсарь (cěsarĭ), from Proto-Slavic *cěsarjь, from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar.

• IPA^(key): /tsar/
• Rhymes: -ar

car m

1. tsar

• carský
• carevna
• carevič
• Cařihrad
• carismus
• carství

• car in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• car in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

• IPA^(key): /kaʁ/

• audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʁ

From Old French quer (“as, since, because, for”), from Latin quārē (“how; why”).

car

1. as, since, because, for

   J’ai ouvert mon parapluie car il pleuvait.

   I opened my umbrella because it was raining.

• parce que (in some contexts)

Borrowed from English car, itself borrowed from Anglo-Norman and the Old Northern French car, variant of Old French char. Doublet of char.

car m (plural cars)

1. a single-decked long-distance, or privately hired, bus, a coach

   Les élèves vont à l’école en car. ― The pupils go to school by coach.

• autocar

• arc

• “car” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

car (comparative plus car, superlative le plus car)

1. dear; beloved; cherished
2. expensive

From Old Irish caraid, from Proto-Celtic *kareti (“to love”), from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂- (“to desire, wish”).

• IPA^(key): /karˠ/

car (present analytic carann, future analytic carfaidh, verbal noun carthain, past participle cartha)

1. to love
2. be devoted to

• gráigh

car

1. for (because)

• French: car

From Old Occitan [Term?], from Latin cārus.

car m (feminine singular cara, masculine plural cars, feminine plural caras)

1. dear
2. expensive

From Proto-Slavic *cěsarjь, from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar.

• IPA^(key): /t͡sar/

• audio

  (file)

car m pers

1. czar, tsar, tzar (title of the former emperors of Russia)

• caryca
• carewicz
• carówna

• car in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Latin carrus, from Gaulish karros.

car n (plural care)

1. cart
2. chariot

• căruță
• cărare
• căra
• caretă
• încărca

From Latin caries or carius.

• cariu (dated)

car m (plural cari)

1. death-watch beetle

car m (genitive singular cuir, plural caran)

1. job
2. twist, turn
3. trick
4. bit

• aig a' char as lugha
• aig a' char as miosa

car

1. somewhat, quite, rather

   Tha thu car fadalach. ― You're somewhat late.

   Thig an stòiridh gu ceann car obann. ― The story came to an end somewhat abruptly.

• caran

From Proto-Slavic *cěsarь, *cьsarь, from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar.

• IPA^(key): /tsâr/

cȁr m (Cyrillic spelling ца̏р)

1. czar, emperor, monarch
2. Podajte caru carevo, a Bogu Božje - Give the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor and God what belongs to God.

• cȁrevina
• cȁrina
• cȃrstvo

From Serbo-Croatian cȁr, from Proto-Slavic *cěsarjь, from a Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *kaisaraz, from Latin Caesar.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtsàːr/, /ˈtsáːr/
• Tonal orthography: cár, cȃr

cár m anim (genitive cárja, nominative plural cárji, feminine caríca or cárinja)

1. tsar

• cêsar

From Latin quare (“why”).

car

1. (archaic) why

• IPA^(key): [tʃar]

car (plural cars)

1. (weapon) bow

From Middle Welsh carr, from Proto-Brythonic *karr, from Proto-Celtic *karros.

• IPA^(key): /kar/

car m (plural ceir)

1. car