wagon

wagon · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*weǵʰ-“to transport”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*wagnaz“wagon”
3. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*wagn
4. Old Dutch · derived from*wagan
5. Middle Dutch · borrowed fromwagen
6. English todaywagon

Borrowed from Middle Dutch wagen, from Old Dutch *wagan, from Proto-West Germanic *wagn, from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (“wagon”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to transport”). Generally displaced native cognate wain, from Old English wæġn, of which it is a doublet. Related also to way, weigh. Sense 8 (“woman of loose morals; obnoxious woman”) is probably a derogatory and jocular reference to a woman being “ridden”, that is, mounted for the purpose of sexual intercourse. The verb is derived from the noun.

Wagon · proper noun²

Derived either as a synonym of Wain, i.e. Charles' Wain, or directly from the wagonlike shape of the constellation. Compare also the synonym Northern Waggoner. See wagon and wain.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from late 15th c. A heavier four-wheeled (normally horse-drawn) vehicle designed to carry goods (or sometimes people).
• from 20th c. Ellipsis of station wagon (“type of automobile”); (occasionally, loosely) any car, van, or light truck.