taxi-cab, taxicab
(ˈtæksɪkæb)
[Short for taximeter cab, and itself shortened to taxi n.]
A cab for public hire, fitted with a taximeter; esp. an automobile or motor-cab so furnished.
| 1907 Daily Chron. 28 Mar. 2/5 The ‘taxicab’, as the new taximeter motor-cab is called, is fast becoming a familiar feature in the streets of London. 1907 Ibid. 3 May 8/3 London has taken kindly to the Taxicab. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 7 May 4/2 How much the taxi-cab has done..to educate the non-motoring public to the utility of the motor-car. 1916 G. B. Shaw Pygmalion i. 116 She gets in and pulls the door to with a slam as the taxicab starts. 1978 M. Gilbert Empty House xii. 102 An aged taxi-cab parked in the [station] forecourt. 1981 P. Theroux Mosquito Coast xxxi. 392 The world..was glorious even here, in this old taxi-cab, with the radio playing. |
| attrib. and Comb. 1907 Daily Chron. 3 May 8/3 Any taxicab driver who demands payment for an extra passenger is breaking the law. 1909 Ibid. 12 Jan. 1/4 She made quickly for her taxicab door, which was held open by police. |
Hence
ˈtaxi-cabby, a driver of a taxi-cab.
| 1910 ‘W. Lawton’ Boy Aviators in Nicaragua 19 The taxi-cabby, like most of his kind, was not averse to making a tip. 1918 G. Frankau One of Them xx. 155 Whether five-bob tip to taxi-cabby Presaged the sorting-bells of Hell Fire Abbey? |