taxi

Where does the word "taxi" come from? It comes from Latin taxare, passing through German and American English before entering English (1907).

Taxi’s story begins in Latin: taxare meant “to assess.” 'to assess, value', perhaps from tangere 'to touch'; the same verb gives English 'tax'. By 1891, the word had taken hold in German as Taxameter. From Medieval Latin taxa 'charge' + Greek metron 'measure'; Wilhelm Bruhn built the fare meter in 1891, and the first motor taxi, a Daimler Victoria with a meter, ran in Stuttgart in 1897. From there it passed into American English as taxicab by 1907. Taximeter + cabriolet; Harry N. Allen launched a fleet of meter-fitted French-built cabs in New York in 1907. It reached English by 1907 as taxi. Clipped from taxicab; London's black cabs had to pass 'the Knowledge' of city streets, a test set up in 1865. Today, taxi means a car with a driver that carries passengers for a fare.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical taxare "to assess", 'to assess, value', perhaps from tangere 'to touch'; the same verb gives English 'tax'.
2. Stage 2 · German · 1891 Taxameter "fare meter", from Medieval Latin taxa 'charge' + Greek metron 'measure'; Wilhelm Bruhn built the fare meter in 1891, and the first motor taxi, a Daimler Victoria with a meter, ran in Stuttgart in 1897.
3. Stage 3 · American English · 1907 taxicab "metered hire car", taximeter + cabriolet; Harry N. Allen launched a fleet of meter-fitted French-built cabs in New York in 1907.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1907 taxi "car for hire", clipped from taxicab; London's black cabs had to pass 'the Knowledge' of city streets, a test set up in 1865.