A cab is a car or other vehicle that you pay to ride in, usually with a driver for hire, like a taxi. It can also mean the enclosed space where the driver sits in a truck or train.
Short for 'cabriolet,' a type of light, horse-drawn carriage from French 'cabriole' meaning 'leap' or 'caper.' As carriages evolved into motor vehicles, the idea of a hired vehicle carried over. The shortened form 'cab' became common in everyday speech.
Before cars, people were basically hailing horse-drawn 'cabs' on the street. Even after horses disappeared from city transport, the paid-ride idea stayed and just jumped onto engines and wheels. The 'cab' of a truck reminds you that language remembers the driver’s compartment as its own little vehicle.
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