A while back someone told me an electric car was not a car, because it doesn't have a carburetor. So you have to call it an EV. I took him at his word. Then I was on a train and I said something to another passenger about the train car we were in. And I thought;

Maybe the word "car" isn't short for "carburetor", maybe it's short for "carriage"? So I checked. Yup;

https://www.etymonline.com/word/car#5353

Was that EV geek messing with me, or did it never occur to him?

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#WordWeirdness #etymology #MeaCulpa

car | Etymology of car by etymonline

wheeled vehicle, from Anglo-French carre, Old North French carre, from Vulgar Latin… See origin and meaning of car.