Etymology

carful

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Today it means: As much as a car will hold. (Usually with reference to an automobile; sometimes with reference to a railroad car, especially in 19th-century texts.) Full definition →

Middle English carful
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromcarful“cartful”
  2. English todaycarful

From Middle English carful (“cartful”), equivalent to car + -ful. Shift in meaning follows that of "cart" to modern senses of car. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Koareful (“a cartful”), West Frisian karfol (“a cartful”), German Karrevoll (“a cartful”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.