hackney
/ˈhakni
/noun (plural hackneys) chiefly historical
1A horse or pony of a light breed with a high-stepping trot, used in harness.As the hackney rolled forth the meaning of Caroline's answer registered in Charlotte's mind....
- You'd feel for all the other taxi drivers and hackneys, particularly those working at night.
- He said the only problem taxi drivers had with the proposed new code was the proposal that all taxis, hackneys and limousines be fitted with a front passenger swivel seat to facilitate entry and exit for people with reduced mobility.
1.1 [usually as modifier] A horse-drawn vehicle kept for hire: a hackney coach...
- Taxi licensing is dealt with by local authorities and Ribble Valley Council currently has 26 operators, 66 private hire vehicles, 49 hackney cabs and 81 drivers on its books.
- One means was, of course, new taxation, which was imposed on salt, stamps, hackney coaches, and, especially, on land.
- And three-quarters of private hire taxis and 55 per cent of hackney cabs stopped for roadside checks were discovered to have faults.
Origin
Middle English: probably from Hackney in East London, where horses were pastured. The term originally denoted an ordinary riding horse (as opposed to a war horse or draught horse), especially one available for hire: hence hackney carriage or coach, and the archaic verb hackney meaning 'use (a horse) for ordinary riding', later 'make commonplace by overuse' (see hackneyed).