Locomotive
/ˌloʊ.kəˈmoʊ.tɪv/noun
A powered vehicle that pulls or pushes train cars, especially on a railway.
Did you know?Locomotive was coined in the early railway age from Latin roots meaning “place” and “to move,” turning the idea of motion itself into a machine name.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*stel-
“to place, stand”
Latin
Latin
locus
“a place”
Latin
Latin
movēre
“to move”
19th Century
English
locomotive
“moving from place to place; later, a self-propelled railway engine”
Modern English
English
locomotive
“a railway engine that pulls or pushes train cars”