Cab (rental vehicle)

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Cab in the English language was originally an abbreviation for a rental carriage for single trips, later for an automobile that is used in taxi services. The abbreviation of Cabriolet (originally two-wheeled, two- or three-seater horse-drawn carriage) was used in combination with other words to define terms for several taxi vehicle forms and then as the abbreviation Cab was each conceptual for new words.

  • It started Hackney Cab , with Hackney is an English breed. These medium-sized horses, originally (from 1300) bred as riding horses for women, were later the preferred breed for stringing small carriages for passenger transport. Since the first four carriages that could be rented for single journeys were offered in London in 1588, these were called Hackney Cabriolet (two-wheeled) or Hackney Carriage (four-wheeled). Also Hackney the second word of the composition is in English in addition to the original meaning of the acronym for taxi.
A Hansom cab in London in 1877
  • Joseph A. Hansom (1803-1882) developed a two-seater, open-to-the-front carriage , which he patented in 1834, in which the driver sat elevated behind the hood and which was constructed much safer than the traditional Hackney Cab design. As Hansom Cabs , they shaped the streets of Victorian London. As with the first word, Hansom and Cab were used as short forms.
  • Taxicab, on the other hand, was an originally American composition of the French taximeter with cab and designated rental carriages for single trips (see above) where the price (tax) is calculated according to the route. In German, the abbreviation taxi (from taximeter) has the same linguistic function as in English Cab .
  • Yellow Cab stands for the yellow taxis in New York, which in turn set the tone for the taxi fleets in many other American cities.
  • London Cab stands for taxis that meet London licensing requirements. When only one model dominated the market there at times, the term was also used colloquially for this model or the manufacturer's series.
  • Checker Cab (Checker for short) was a model car that was developed and produced for the taxi industry by Plancherel Checker Cab Manufacturing Company (later Checker Motors Corporation) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

See also convertible on the original 'cabriolet' (horse cart)