A driver of a taxi or hired carriage, especially a horse-drawn cab.
From 'hack' (a horse for hire or taxi) + 'man.' The word 'hack' comes from 'hackney,' a type of horse commonly used for transportation. 'Hackman' was common terminology for taxi and cab drivers in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Before Uber and Lyft, hackmen were the gig workers of their era—they owned their own vehicles, set their own hours, and faced similar debates about licensing and regulation that we see with modern rideshare drivers today.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.