A loud horn or alarm device that makes a sharp, piercing sound, often used on vehicles or ships.
Named after the Claxon Manufacturing Company, founded in 1899, which patented early electric horn designs; the brand name became a generic term for loud horns.
Brand names that become common words (like 'kleenex' or 'escalator') are called 'proprietary eponyms,' and claxon is a great example of how a company's invention became the everyday word for that entire category of device.
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