cabman

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a man who drove a horse-drawn cab for hire

   The cabman flicked the reins and guided the hansom into the crowded street.

2. 2
   noun

   dated: a male taxi driver

   The cabman loaded her suitcase into the taxi before asking for the address.

Formed from cab + man. Cab was shortened in the nineteenth century from cabriolet, the name of a light horse-drawn carriage borrowed from French. Cabman first referred to the driver of such a hired carriage and was later applied to taxi drivers.

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