We tend to accept words by using them without fully knowing their origin and how they came to be a part of the english language and one of these words is that of the “Automobile”
Many of us own or lease multiple automobiles and have done so for many years, but have no idea when the word first came to be or what it means, that is, until today.
Firstly, we must take the one word and break it down in to two — “Auto” and “Mobile”. Secondly, we must learn what each part of the word means.
The first part of the word is “Self” and the second part is “Mobile” — “Selfmobile”. The origin of the word “Automobile” is French.
On January 3, 1899, the word first appeared in the New York Times, making it 118 years old this year. That’s a long time for us to not know its origin.
In the New York Times article, other names were suggested and quickly dismissed by the editors. Words like, “autowain” and “autotruck”, but it it was the word, “automobile” that they settled on because the French were already using it.
It's not surprising to learn that the word comes from the French for it was a French inventor, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, who built the first working self-propelled land-based mechanical vehicle, in other words, the world's first automobile. Also, France became the first nation to develop a credible motor industry.
Within months of them first coining the word, “automobile” in an article, the New York Times was printing the word with enthusiasm.
It is them we have to thank for settling on the word, “automobile” for “autowain” or “horseless carriage” just doesn’t sound right and would be strange to use in today’s world.
