Meanings
plural cartwains
- rareA wagon using for hauling loads.
Poor Pascoe's naked body he espies, Behind the cartwain, as he casts his eyes; […]
1811, James Martin Hosking, To America and Back, published 19702 more examples
And as soon as he came to the bridge, it was so wide that two cartwains could go along side by side; and Gwalchmei wondered at seeing the bridge, which he had seen so small before that, now so large as that.
1876, Robert Williams, Seint Graal, page 594He did so, and no sooner had the horse stepped on it than it became wide enough for two cartwains to cross side by side in this respect it resembled much more closely the Bridge of the Souls in the Irish visions alluded to.
1891, Sir John Rhys, Studies in the Arthurian Legend, page 56
Origin
- Old Englishcrætwæġn“wagon, chariot”
- Middle English*cartwain
- Englishcartwain
From cart + wain, perhaps from Middle English *cartwain, continuing Old English crætwæġn (“wagon, chariot”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cartwain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartwain
“cartwain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartwain. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cartwain,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cartwain.
Source: cartwain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.