automobile, adj. and n.
View as:
Pronunciation:
Brit.
/ˈɔːtəmə(ʊ)biːl/
,
U.S.
/ˈˌɔdəmoʊˈˌbil/
,
/ˈˌɔdoʊmoʊˈˌbil/
,
/ˈˌɑdəmoʊˈˌbil/
,
/ˈˌɑdoʊmoʊˈˌbil/
Forms:
18– automobile, 19– ortomobile (nonstandard), 19– ortormobile (nonstandard). (Show Less)
Etymology:
< French automobile (adjective) (of a vehicle) having its own means of propulsion (a1876 in voiture automobile , denoting a kind of tramway (compare quot. 1876 at sense A.; earlier in philosophical context in sense ‘propelled by some internal mechanism, rather than by any kind of engine’ (1852)), of or relating to a motor car (1895), (noun) road vehicle powered by a motor (1891) < auto- auto- comb. form1 + mobile mobile adj.1 The French noun was also borrowed into other European languages; compare e.g. Dutch automobiel (1886 as adjective, 1897 as noun, originally in form †automobiles , plural noun; 1898 in modern form), German Automobil , noun (1896; 1893 in form Automobiles (plural), in a French geographical context), Swedish automobil (1895 as adjective, 1896 as noun), Spanish automóvil (1899 as adjective (in coche automóvil , lit. ‘self-moving car’), 1900 as noun), Italian automobile (1892 as adjective, 1898 as noun). With the use as noun compare slightly later auto n.5
A. adj.
Propelled by some internal mechanism, self-moving; (esp. of a vehicle) having its own means of propulsion, as opposed to being horse-drawn, pulled by a locomotive, etc. Now rare.Common in the late 19th cent.; now usually only as attrib. use of the noun: cf. Compounds 1.
1876 Frank Leslie's Illustr. Newspaper 1 Jan. 275
Automobile Cars for Tramways... [In Paris] the North Tramway Company have rejected steam in favor of..‘Automobile cars’, propelled by means of compressed air.
1881 Daily News 11 Aug.,
The automobile safety barriers of the Austrian railways, which will fall as trains approach and recede.
1883 H. Greer Dict. Electr. 48
There are half a dozen systems of electric traction..in use... An auto-mobile car, with isolated rails.
1886 Harper's Mag. June 25/2
These vessels..besides their equipment of auto-mobile torpedoes, are provided with powerful batteries.
1895 Daily News 15 Oct. 5/3
Signor Cleto Brena has arrived at Naples with his automobile carriage from Milan.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 12/1
France has undoubtedly led in the development of the light automobile vehicle.
1922 Railway & Locomotive Engin. Oct. 282
Repairs to 300 stock cars, 250 automobile cars and 500 box cars.
1954 Mariner's Mirror 40 153
Subsequent torpedo vessels..were fitted to handle spar torpedoes and with dropping gear for automobile torpedoes.
1876—1954(Hide quotations)
B. n.
1. A public passenger vehicle having its own means of propulsion, esp. a tramcar which combines engine and carriage. Cf. motor car n. 1. Now disused.
1881 Daily News 24 Feb.,
At first the ‘Auto-Mobile’ or combined engines and carriages were made..but the opinion has now set in favour of the separate traction engine strong enough to pull two large cars [on a tramway].
1881 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 11 Mar. 2/3
The ordinary work is performed by [tramway] cars known as auto-mobiles, that is, they carry the engine and the air-reservoirs.
1900 Engin. Mag. 19 764/1
The passenger automobile is an accepted and rapidly-increasing institution.
1914 H. F. Baker tr. Y. Guyot Where & why Public Ownership has Failed xii. 136
(heading)
Opposition of the Municipalities first to Tramways, then to the Omnibus Automobile.
1881—1914(Hide quotations)
2. Chiefly N. Amer. A road vehicle powered by a motor (usually an internal-combustion engine), esp. one designed to carry a driver and a small number of passengers; a car.Now chiefly in formal, commercial, or journalistic contexts, car being the usual word in informal and spoken English.
1895 Standard 22 Aug. 4/7
The British Carriage Builders..do not seem to be alarmed by the new methods of locomotion of which so much is being heard. Cycles and ‘automobiles’ do not depress their spirits.
1899 Motor-car World 8/1
The theory and practice of automobiles.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 11/1
On the Continent of Europe and in the United States the usual expression for these vehicles [sc. motor-cars] is ‘automobile’.
1903 Smart Set Jan. 147/1
Ashe swung his automobile around the curve, and into the short drive.
1918 B. Tarkington Magnificent Ambersons x. 144
He will soon begin to build his factory here for the manufacture of automobiles, which he says is a term he prefers to ‘horseless carriages’.
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. Autobiogr. II. viii. 543
The bicycle was the swiftest thing upon the roads in those days, there were as yet no automobiles.
1958 Amer. Mercury Nov. 87/2
While the American firms nevertheless continue to increase the size and horsepower of their automobiles, it will be interesting to watch the progress of this wonderful little [Volkswagen] beetle.
1977 National Observer
(U.S.)
22 Jan. 1/1
The environmentalists want a tougher line on automobiles that pollute.
1994 Bottom Line 15 July 16/2
Side-impact air bags..will begin appearing in Volvo automobiles later this year.
2001 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 14 Oct. 19/2
Lovers' Lane..a boy and a girl are making out in an automobile.
1895—2001(Hide quotations)
Compounds
C1. General attrib., as automobile accident, automobile company, automobile industry, automobile race, automobile show, etc.
1899 Harper's Weekly 28 Oct. 1101/3
It is an interesting experiment in automobile construction.
1901 Daily News 16 Feb. 6/1
The French have shown themselves keenly interested in the subject of auto-mobile races.
1926 Daily Colonist
(Victoria, Brit. Columbia)
17 Jan. 5/7
The twelfth national automobile show broke all previous sales records.
1935 Fortune Aug. 122/3
The automobile industry, as all the world knows, has been a hard nut for organized labor to crack.
1946 Liberty 25 May 62/1
(advt.)
American Brakeblok Brake Lining—the fine brake lining that many leading automobile manufacturers use.
1962 Listener 13 Sept. 375/1
The automobile factories have tooled up for their new models.
1989 A. Stoddard Living beautifully Together
(1991)
i. 104
An acquaintance was in an automobile accident and miraculously survived.
2001 Automobile Mag. Nov. 86/2
The partnership was established in 1999 by several automobile companies.
1899—2001(Hide quotations)
C2.
automobile association n. any of various national or regional associations for motorists providing information on road facilities, emergency breakdown assistance, insurance, and other services (freq. with capital initials in the names of specific clubs); cf. AA n. at A n. Initialisms.
1899 Horseless Age 4 14/2
The intrepid automobilist..is none other than Dr Lehwess, of the Automobile Association, London.
1906 Auto 27 Oct. 1424/2
The Automobile Association..do their utmost to check any tendency to ‘road-hogging’ by motorists.
1914 Autocar 33 574/2
Owing to the fact that the mutilation of road signs by sportsmen..has caused considerable confusion..the California State Automobile Association is reported to have lately placed a bull's eye target on each post.
1961 Richmond
(Va.)
Times-Dispatch 18 Jan. 4/1
The American Automobile Association may ‘red-line’ Prince George county because of its policy toward traffic violaters.
1995 Insurance Industry Internat.
(Nexis)
May 8
Europe's automobile associations are working on their image as reliable..insurance providers.
2001 R. Hill Dialogues of Dead
(2002)
i. 4
Along that narrow country road I saw approaching a bright yellow Automobile Association van.
1899—2001(Hide quotations)
automobile club n. [originally after French Automobile-Club (1896 or earlier in Automobile-Club de France, the name of such a club founded in France in 1895)] any of various national or regional clubs or organizations for motorists, now usually providing breakdown service, insurance, travel information, etc. (freq. with capital initials in the names of specific clubs); cf. automobile association n.
1896 Manch. Guardian 24 Sept. 10/1
The Automobile Club of France.
1903 Motor. Ann. 145
The Automobile Club..held a series of practical and official brake trials in Welbeck Park.
1913 Southwestern Reporter 157 742/2
The purpose of the proposed corporation shall be to support and maintain an automobile club.
1960 Oxf. Times 1 Jan. 1/7
The Oxford office of the Royal Automobile Club invites applications from Young Ladies for the duties of patrolette.
1997 Condé Nast Traveler Mar. 100/2
One may have to rely on the less-than-brilliant hosterias built by the Automobile Club of Argentina.
2005 Daily Tel.
(Sydney)
(Nexis)
7 Sept. 3
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria yesterday hit out at Melbourne service stations, which it claimed had made a preemptive..price rise after a jump in the wholesale prices [of fuel].
1896—2005(Hide quotations)