cab-forwardadj.n.
/ˌkabˈfɔːwəd/, U.S. /ˌkæbˈfɔrwərd/ Originally North American.
A. adj.
Of a lorry, car, etc.: designed so that the compartment for the driver and any passengers extends, or is located, further towards the front than usual; spec. = cab-over-engine adj.
ΚΠ
1936 Daily Ardmoreite (Ardmore, Okla.) 19 Apr. 12/7 (advt.) Studebaker trucks... Standard or cab forward design optional.
1991 Maclean's 26 Aug. 34/1 Their so-called cab-forward design allows for greater interior space.
2006 Globe & Mail (Canada) (Nexis) 7 Dec. g14 Honda showed its FCX Hydrogen car—..a cab-forward, next-generation fuel-cell vehicle.
B. n.
A cab-forward or cab-over-engine lorry, truck, etc., or the cab section of such a vehicle; (often spec.) a cab-over-engine steam locomotive. See sense A., cab-over-engine adj. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [noun] > truck or lorry > with specific type of body
platform truck1868
stake-body truck1907
stake-truck1907
panel truck1910
tray top1934
cab-forward1936
cab-over1943
panel van1948
tipper1950
straight job1955
stake1968
1936 Time 4 May 38/1 (advt.) Heavy-duty, genuine truck construction from big 6-cylinder engine to full-floating rear axle, distinguishes these new Cab-Forwards.
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 25 Cab forward, a tractor whose design places the driver well forward.
2007 C. Wiatrowski Railroads across North Amer. i. 34 (caption) From 1909 to 1943 Southern Pacific purchased 256 articulated steam locomotives with the cab in front of the boiler. Improved visibility was certainly a benefit of these ‘cab-forwards’, but the primary reason for the design was to keep crews from being asphyxiated by exhaust gases.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1936