Tram
WordNet
noun
(1) A wheeled vehicle that runs on rails and is propelled by electricity
"`tram' and `tramcar' are British terms"
(2) A four-wheeled wagon that runs on tracks in a mine
"A tramcar carries coal out of a coal mine"
(3) A conveyance that transports passengers or freight in carriers suspended from cables and supported by a series of towers
verb
(4) Travel by tram
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From traam. The popular derivation from tramway builder Benjamin Outram is false. The term pre-dated him.
Noun
- A passenger vehicle for public use that runs on tracks in the road.
- A similar vehicle for carrying materials.
- 1789, John Brand, History of Newcastle Upon Tyne, volume II, page 681. (Quoted in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, centenary edition, 1971, ISBN 304-93570-0.)
- Trams are a kind of sledge on which coals are brought from the place where they are hewn to the shaft. A tram has four wheels but a sledge is without wheels.
- 1789, John Brand, History of Newcastle Upon Tyne, volume II, page 681. (Quoted in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, centenary edition, 1971, ISBN 304-93570-0.)