Rickshaw
/ˈrɪk.ʃɔː/noun
A small two-wheeled passenger vehicle pulled by a person or bicycle.
Did you know?The word comes from Japanese jinrikisha, literally “human-powered vehicle,” and English speakers clipped and reshaped it into “rickshaw,” a classic example of how colonial contact can remold a word in transit.
Etymological Timeline
1860s
Japanese
jinrikisha
“A human-powered vehicle pulled by a person.”
Late 19th Century
English
rickshaw
“An English borrowing and shortening of the Japanese vehicle name.”
Japanese roots
Japanese
jin
“Person; human.”
Japanese roots
Japanese
riki
“Strength; power.”
Japanese roots
Japanese
sha
“Vehicle; carriage.”