Automobile
/ˈɔː.tə.moʊˌbiːl/noun
A road vehicle powered by an engine and designed to carry passengers.
Did you know?“Automobile” was coined in the late 19th century from Greek auto- (“self”) + French mobile (“movable”), making it a deliberately modern word built to name a machine that seemed almost magical at the time.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
autós
“self; same”
Latin
Latin
mobilis
“movable; capable of motion”
Late 19th Century
French
automobile
“self-propelled vehicle”
Late 19th Century
English
automobile
“a self-propelled road vehicle”
Modern English
English
auto
“shortened form of automobile”