"Hackney"
Posted by The Mysterious H.C. on February 28, 1998 at 13:11:30:
In response to Is a carriage for hire (taxi), be called cab?, written by Davidia on February 28, 1998 at 09:42:26
Davidia -- the word "taximeter" or "taxi" wasn't used until the very end of the 19th century, and it's not clear that the word "cab" was in use before Jane Austen's death (first OED citation, 1827), and anyway, at first it would have just been a shortening of "cabriolet", which was a certain specific kind of carriage -- literally "a little goat-like thing" in what appears to be a hybrid French-Spanish word...
The usual word in Jane Austen's lifetime, and the one she uses several times in Pride and Prejudice, was "hackney-coach". They certainly would have been available at coaching stations on the outskirts of London, and at their stables, but I don't know what the etiquette was for hailing one from the street...
- Hackney cab P. Bingham 13:07:01 3/01/98
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- Thank you H.C. but... Davidia 13:51:12 2/28/98
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- Cabs Helen 14:43:50 2/28/98
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- Thank you, Helen! (nfm) Davidia 17:16:21 2/28/98
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- Thank you, Helen! (nfm) Davidia 17:16:21 2/28/98
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- Cabs Helen 14:43:50 2/28/98
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