road carn.
/ˈrəʊd ˌkɑː/, U.S. /ˈroʊd ˌkɑr/ 1. U.S. A vehicle that travels on a railroad; = car n.1 3a, railroad car n. at railroad n. Compounds 1a, tram-car n. Now historical.
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society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > railway wagon or carriage
rail wagon1824
railway wagon1824
wagon1825
car1826
railway car1828
railroad car1829
railcar1833
steam-car1833
road car1834
motor car1878
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > tramcar
streetcar1832
road car1834
tram-carriage1868
tramway car1872
tram-car1873
surface car1879
tram1879
car1890
railbus1932
1834 Railway Locomotives & Cars 22 Nov. 723/2 Shall this produce..be transferred, by the interposition of a railway..from the lake vessel to the road car, and thence back again to the river boat?
1888 19th Cent. Feb. 240 The box seat of an omnibus or the garden-seated top of a road-car.
1906 Chambers's Jrnl. 24 Feb. 205/2 In America an experimental car has been constructed by the Union Pacific Railroad... In appearance it is a very different thing from the road-car which may perhaps be regarded as its parent.
1953 Jrnl. Gypsy Lore Soc. 32 154 ‘Nobby’..lived in an expensive Pullman road car, and wore a pink shirt with starched collar.
1976 A. Martin J. J. Hill & Opening of Northwest ix. 265 The Canadian Pacific itself, which at that time owned little rolling stock, depended upon Hill to send construction supplies north in Manitoba road cars.
2005 Waterbury Trolleys (Connecticut Motor Coach Museum) ii. 38 Two 45-ton electric locomotives..were used to haul steam road cars to service..other customers in the city.
2. A motor vehicle designed to carry a driver and a small number of passengers on the road (sometimes opposed to racing car, etc.); (now esp.) a car suitable for, or meeting the legal requirements for use on, ordinary roads (often denoting a racing car adapted for road use).
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun]
buggy1888
motor vehicle1890
motor carriage1894
autocar1895
jam jar1895
motor car1895
car1896
traction1896
motor1899
bubble1901
machine1901
Lizzie1913
buzz-wagon1914
road car1914
short1914
scooter1917
buzz-box1920
ride1930
drag1935
bus1939
wagon1955
wheels1959
sheen1968
low rider1974
scoot1977
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > other types of racing car
road racer1885
sprint car1904
road car1914
sprinter1984
1914 Fort Wayne (Indiana) News 20 June 12/1 American makers must know the race car and the road car..are two distinct types of machine.
1924 Woman's World (Chicago) Oct. 13/3 A sporty road-car, 1924 model.
1955 A. Budrys in D. Knight 100 Years Sci. Fiction (1969) 251 He had pulled his roadcar up to a gentle stop, swung sideways in his seat, and looked at it [sc. a cottage for sale].
1971 C. Williams Car Conversions v. 127 The most advanced tuning of all is found on racing engines, where the average small capacity unit may be producing more than twice the power of an equivalent engine in a road car.
1997 BBC Top Gear Mag. Nov. 25/4 We went to Germany to drive Porsche's mega-fast 911GT1 road car.
2009 Observer (Nexis) 3 May (Review section) Enzo Ferrari... had a messianic commitment to motor-racing and only reluctantly decided to make road cars as a way of funding the sport.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1834