A car (or automobile) is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transportation. Cars came into global use during the 20th century.
The year 1886 is regarded as the birth year of the modern car when German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. Cars became widely available in the early 20th century. One of the first cars accessible to the masses was the 1908 Model T. an American car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company.
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| The Jaguar XJ220 Supercar |
Cars were rapidly adopted in the US, where they replaced animal-drawn carriages and carts, but took much longer to be accepted in Western Europe and other parts of the world.
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| Toyota Supra |
Etymology
The English word car is believed to originate from Latin carrus/carrum "wheeled vehicle" or (via Old North French) Middle English carre "two-wheeled cart," both of which in turn derive from Gaulish karros "chariot." It originally referred to any wheeled horse-drawn vehicle, such as a cart, carriage, or wagon.
"Motor car," attested from 1895, is the usual formal term in British English. "Autocar," a variant likewise attested from 1895 and literally meaning "self-propelled car," is now considered archaic. "Horseless carriage" is attested from 1895.
"Automobile," a classical compound derived from Ancient Greek autós (αὐτός) "self" and Latin mobilis "movable," entered English from French and was first adopted by the Automobile Club of Great Britain in 1897. It fell out of favour in Britain and is now used chiefly in North America, where the abbreviated form "auto" commonly appears as an adjective in compound formations like "auto industry" and "auto mechanic". Both forms are still used in everyday Dutch (auto/automobiel) and German (Auto/Automobil).
