Ambulance
/ˈæm.bjʊ.ləns/noun
A vehicle equipped for transporting the sick or injured, or the service that provides emergency transport.
Did you know?In French, *ambulance* originally meant a mobile hospital, from *ambulant* “walking about,” ultimately tied to the same ancient root that gave us *ambulate* and *amble*.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂embʰ-
“to go, move about”
Latin
Latin
ambulāre
“to walk, go about”
Late Latin
Late Latin
ambulantia
“a walking about; mobile hospital service”
French
Old French
ambulance
“a movable field hospital”
19th Century
English
ambulance
“a vehicle for carrying the injured or sick”
Modern English
English
ambulance
“an emergency medical transport vehicle”
Explore more surprising origins