▪ I. charioteer, n.
(ˌtʃærɪəˈtɪə(r))
Forms: 4 charietere, charyeter, chariatour, 5 charyetter, 7 charioter, 7– charioteer.
[app. a mixed form f. OF. charioteur, and OF. charetier (whence chareter).]
The driver of a chariot or car.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 21287 (Trin.) Þe charietere [v.r. carter] is ihesu crist. 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xxii. 34 And he seide to hys charyeter, Turn thin hond. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 383 The chariatour herde þat. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. ii. (1626) 29 With hands that cannot erre Hurls lightning at the audacious Charioter. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 390 On a heap Chariot and charioteer lay overturned. 1859 Lewin Invas. Brit. 45 The horsemen and charioteers of the Britons..poured such a shower of javelins upon the Roman galleys. |
Add: 2. Astron. (With capital initial.) The constellation Auriga; = wagoner n.1 3 a.
| [1810 J. Greig Astrography vi. 125 He was Mirtilus,..charioteer to Aenomaus..; his name is famous for his great address in the management of horses;..he was..made a constellation after his death.] 1885 R. Hill Stars & Constellations 24 The constellation Auriga, called also, the Charioteer, and the Wagoner. 1930 A. C. de la Crommelin Story of Stars i. 21 On the opposite side of the Pole to Vega we find another bright star, Capella, in the Charioteer. 1965 Zim & Baker Stars: Guide to Astron. 87 Auriga, the Charioteer is the last of the autumn constellations, heralding the coming winter. 1994 Daily Tel. 31 Dec. 22/7 The star Capella in the constellation of Auriga the Charioteer is shown prominently in the centre of the chart. |
▪ II. charioteer, v.
Also 9 -ier.
[f. prec. n.]
1. intr. To act as charioteer; to guide or manage a chariot or car; to drive.
| 1802 Southey Ode Astronomy (D.), To charioteer with wings on high, And to rein-in the Tempests of the sky. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. App. Wks (1846) 761/1 Whom I saw charioteering over the French flag. |
2. trans. To drive (a chariot or vehicle). Also transf.
| a 1821 Shelley Witch of Atlas (1824) lviii. 460 Naked boys bridling tame water-snakes, Or charioteering ghastly alligators. 1883 Leisure Hour 145/1, I charioteered one of these [buggies]. 1883 Gd. Words 205 He compared [them] to..Phlegethon charioteering the sun. |
3. trans. To drive (a person) in a chariot. Hence ˌcharioˈteered ppl. a.
| 1849 [W. M. Call] Reverberations ii. 96 Chariotiered, as in an ocean car. 1862 R. Christison Let. in Life II. xi. 301, I shall always remember his charioteering me through the finest part of his property. |