▪ I. wagon, waggon, n.
(ˈwægən)
Forms: 6 wagan(e, waghen, wagen, 6–7 waggen, 7 waggin, 6– waggon, wagon.
[Early mod.E. wagan, waghen, a. Du. wagen (formerly also written waghen) = OE. wæᵹn wain.
In Du. (as in Ger.) wagen has always been the most general term for a wheeled vehicle; in the 16th c. it was adopted into Eng. in this wide sense (see 2 below) as well as in the specific military application (sense 1) learned in the continental wars.
The Eng. dicts. of the 18th c. have the spelling waggon, exc. Johnson, who gives wagon without remark, though all his examples have waggon. Todd 1818 prefers wagon for etymological reasons, but says that waggon is the prevailing form. Webster 1828 gives wagon, remarking that ‘the old orthography, waggon, seems to be falling into disuse’. Smart 1836 gives waggon as the current form, and wagon as ‘a disused spelling’. Stormonth 1884 and Cassell 1888 have waggon, wagon; later dicts. wagon either alone or in the first place. In Great Britain waggon is still very commonly used; in the U.S. it is rare.
The Eng. word has been adopted in Fr. as wagon, vagon (vagɔ̃) in the sense of ‘railway coach or carriage’, a meaning which is now obsolete in Eng. (see quot. 1847 in sense 5 b). So also G. waggon (pronounced as Fr.).]
1. a. A strong four-wheeled vehicle designed for the transport of heavy goods. In Mil. use chiefly with qualifying word, as ambulance, ammunition, bread, forge wagon etc., for which see those words.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. (1812) I. lxii. 84 And whan these lordes sawe none other remedy, they trussed all their harnes in waganes [Fr. en voictures], and retourned to the hoost before Tourney. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 46 b, The Flemmynges..made purviaunce for wagans, vitaile and other thynges. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. d j, As, the force which one man hath with the Duche waghen Racke: therwith to set vp agayne, a mighty waghen laden, being ouerthrowne. 1601 Holland Pliny vii. lvi. I. 188 The Phrygians invented first the waggon and charriot with foure wheeles [L. vehiculum cum quatuor rotis]. 1611 Bible Gen. xlv. 19 Take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wiues. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars i. 4 Theodoricus..went into Italy with all the Goths, putting their Wives and Children in Waggons, and all the Goods they could carry. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 439 The barren plaines Of Sericana, where Chineses drive With Sails and Wind thir canie Waggons light. 1671 ― P.R. iii. 336 And Waggons fraught with Utensils of war. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 317 Thy well-breath'd Horse..bred to Belgian Waggons. 1727 De Foe Eng. Tradesm. (1841) II. xlvi. 173 From those barges they [the coals] are loaded into carts and wagons, to be carried to the respective country towns. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xv, The numerous waggons that accompanied them contained the rich spoils of the enemy. 1810 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) VI. 302, I shall endeavor to send you some spring and commissariat waggons. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 75 They [the Indians] had dogged it [Captain Bonneville's party] for a time in secret, astonished at the long train of waggons and oxen. 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. i. 2 The waggons of a trader generally contain every requisite for a farmer's establishment. |
b. transf. (With capital initial.) The constellation
Charles's Wain.
Quot.
c 1511 is from a work translated into English by a Fleming, and contains many Flemish words. The
quot. therefore does not prove the existence of the word in
Eng. at the date of the book.
| [c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 28/1 The northe sayle sterre or pollumarticum, or the waghen called.] 1867 Chamb. Encycl. s.v. Ursa major, The common names throughout Europe for these seven stars are ‘the Plough’, ‘Charles's Wain’, ‘the Wagon’. 1889 N.W. Linc. Gloss., Waggon and Horses. Ursa Major, the Great Bear. |
† 2. a. A carriage of any kind for the conveyance of persons, their luggage, etc.
Obs.| 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 157 b, Speusippus beeyng ympotente..was carryed in a wagen [L. vehiculo] towarde the schoole called Academia. 1555–6 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. II. 253 One Wagon of tymbre work for Ladies and Gentlewomen of our Prevye Chamber. 1582 in T. Phillips Hist. & Antiq. Shrewsb. (1779) 46 This yeare 1582,..the right honorable Lady Mary Sidney came to thys towne of Salop, in her wagon. 1617 J. Taylor (Water P.) Trav. Lond. to Hamburgh Wks. (1630) iii. 88/1, I appointed a Waggon ouer night to bee ready by three of the Clocke in the morning. |
† b. A war-chariot;
= chariot n. 1 c.
Obs.| 1591 Savile Tacitus, Agricola 244 Some cuntreyes make warre in wagons also [L. quædam nationes et curru præliantur]. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 30 Their fight is..with wagons and chariots [L. bigis et curribus]. 1614 Ralegh Hist. World iv. ii. §20 II. 206 He..sends his Brother Hagis with..a hundred armed waggons to entertaine him. Each waggon had in it foure to fight, and two to guide it. |
† c. poet. = car n.1 1 b,
chariot n. 1 b.
Obs.| 1582 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 118 And two stately lyons this fine dams gilt wagon haled. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 51 Prouide thee two proper Palfries, as blacke as Iet, To hale thy vengefull Waggon swift away. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. v. 28 Then to her yron wagon she betakes. Ibid. i. v. 44 Whilst Phœbus pure In westerne waues his wearie wagon did recure. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 111 The sunne in wagon makes th'horizon cleare. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 61 The Poët stepping with Phaëton upon the waggon hath noted [etc.]. |
3. An open four-wheeled vehicle built for carrying hay, corn, etc., consisting of a long body furnished with ‘shelboards’.
(In the 16th c.
app. distinguished from
wain.)
| 1573–80 Tusser Husb. (1878) 35 Horse, Oxen, plough, tumbrel, cart, waggon, & waine. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. 13 There stands my Heybarne, which hath in the vpper roomes my Hey, and beneath, Waynes, Cartes, Carres, Waggons, Coaches, [etc.]. 1600 in W. F. Shaw Mem. Eastry (1870) 226 One wagon and wagon harnesse three plowes [etc.]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 244 The tow'ring height Of Waggons, and the Cart's unweildy weight. 1789 W. Marshall Glouc. I. 57 The Glocestershire waggon is..the best farm-waggon I have seen in the kingdom... The wheels run six inches wider than those of the Yorkshire waggon. 1803 J. Porter Thaddeus ii. (1831) 16 Concealing their arms in waggons of hay. 1862 J. C. Morton Farmer's Cal. (ed. 2) 415 The carrying of our grain crops..is done differently in different districts. In the South the use of the two and three horse waggon is almost universal. 1879 Jefferies Wild Life vi. 115 A waggon..is the pride of the craftsman who builds it, and who is careful to reproduce the exact ‘lines’ which he learned from his master as an apprentice. |
4. A covered vehicle for the regular conveyance of commodities and passengers by road.
See also
post-wagon (1677–),
stage-wagon (1761–)
s.v. stage n. 14.
| 1615 Stow Ann. 867/2 In the yeere 1564 Guylliam Boonen, a dutchman,..brought the vse of Coaches into England... And about that time, began long wagons to come in vse, such as now come to London, from Canterbury, Norwich, Ipswich, Glocester, &c. with Passengers, and commodities. 1641 Evelyn Diary 10 Sept., I took waggon for Dort. Ibid. 10 Oct., I went by wagon..to Dynkirk. 1660 Sir W. Dugdale Diary 13 Mar., in Archæologia XX. 471 My dau. Lettice went towards London in Coventre Waggon. 1776 Mrs. P. L. Powys Passages fr. Diaries (1899) 157 The two London waggons came in with sixteen and fourteen horses. 1776 Pennsylvania Even. Post 16 July 354/1 A number of Waggons with Teams are wanted for the public service immediately. 1824 Barnewall & Cresswell Rep. K.B. II. 717 The following evidence..was then set out; that defendant was a common carrier, and that his waggon stopped in the parish of Elden. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede v. xxxvi, She heard the rumbling of heavy wheels behind her; a covered waggon was coming, creeping slowly along. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer xvi, An express waggon with a driving seat. Ibid., He is like to turn back..if he journeys with us in the waggon. |
5. a. Mining. A truck used to convey minerals along the roadways of a mine, or from the mine to the place of shipment. (See also
quot. 1886.)
| 1649 [W. Grey] Chorographia 25 Waggons with one Horse to carry down Coales, from the Pits, to the Stathes, to the River, &c. 1727 De Foe Eng. Tradesm. (1841) II. xlvi. 173 [The coals] are then loaded into a great machine called a wagon; which..goes..to the nearest river or water carriage. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 51 Chaldron 53 cwt. The waggons which convey the coals from the pit to the place of shipment carry the above quantity, and are called chaldron waggons. 1867 W. W. Smyth Coal & Coal-mining 148 Certain requirements, in connection with the raising of the mineral in the shafts..necessitate the use of particular kinds of waggon. 1886 J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 70 Waggon, a measure of weight equal to 24 cwt. Coal sold for delivery in carts is usually sold by the waggon of 24 cwt. |
b. An open truck or a closed van for the transport of goods on a railway.
† Formerly applied also to the open carriages used for conveying passengers at the lowest fares, and as the general term for any kind of railway vehicle.
| 1756 Abiah Darby Diary 31 Jan. in Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. (1913) X. 83 First Waggon of Pigs [sc. of iron] came down the Railway [in Coalbrookdale]. 1825 J. Nicholson Oper. Mech. 657 The weight of the engine and 16 waggons is equal to 154,560 lbs. 1840 F. Whishaw Railw. Gt. Brit. & Irel. 493 The ordinary train would consist of two wagons, or trucks, of merchandise, &c. placed next to the engine, then the passenger-wagon [3rd class], and lastly the passenger-carriage. 1847 S. C. Brees Railw. Pract. 4th Ser. i. 1 The name of wagon is given to vehicles of every description employed on railways. 1872 Helps Life T. Brassey v. (1878) 77 A ‘set’ is a number of wagons—in fact, a train. |
6. U.S. A light four-wheeled vehicle used for various business purposes; also, loosely, a similar vehicle used for pleasure.
dearborn wagon: see
dearborn.
| 1837 Haliburton Clockmaker Ser. i. v. 34 People soon began to assemble, some on foot, and others on horseback and in waggons. 1841 [see dearborn]. 1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women xvii, Will you take me out in the trotting waggon with Puck? |
7. A covered four-wheeled vehicle used as a living house by gypsies, travelling showmen, travellers, etc.
| 1851 [see living vbl. n. 7]. 1886 Cornh. Mag. Sept. 298 The mess-waggon is always an important feature when an outfit starts on the ‘trail’. Ibid., During a halt he never left the waggon, but hung around [etc.]. |
8. U.S. A baby-carriage.
| 1847: see wagon-frame in 12 a. 1887 Cabot Mem. Emerson II. 282 The whole town assembled, down to the babies in their wagons. |
9. a. Short for
dinner-wagon (see
dinner n. 2).
Cf. wagon-table in 13.
| 1906 C. Mansfield Girl & Gods viii, Margaret proceeded to cut the wire of a bottle, and then fetched glasses from a waggon. |
b. Short for
patrol-wagon s.v. patrol n. 4.
slang (
orig. and chiefly
U.S.).
| 1890 J. P. Quinn Fools of Fortune xii. 404 When a raid is made..enough ‘pluggers’ are captured to fill one or two wagons and are driven to the nearest police station with much clatter and display. 1926 J. Black You can't Win iv. 31 I'll phone for the wagon. We'll have to take them all to the station. 1953 [see ice n. 2 c]. |
c. Short for
station-wagon 2. Also more
gen., a motor car (
colloq.).
| 1955 M. Allingham Beckoning Lady vi. 90 ‘Is this the wagon?’ Amanda rose to meet the car. 1968 K. Weatherly Roo Shooter 59 When he was ready to go, the wagon wouldn't start. 1975 ‘E. Lathen’ By Hook or by Crook xviii. 173 ‘Do you want to take my car, Paul?’..‘The wagon or the sports car?’ |
10. Bookbinding. ‘A tool having four edges of cane mounted in a frame, and used to trim the edges of gold-leaf to a size for a book’.
11. Figurative phrases.
a. to hitch one's wagon to a star, to set oneself high aspirations; to aspire to another's admirable example.
| 1870 Emerson Society & Solitude 27 Hitch your wagon to a star. Let us not fag in paltry works... Work..for..justice, love, freedom, knowledge, utility. 1929 D. H. Lawrence Paintings of D.H. Lawrence 22 What you mentally or ‘consciously’ desire is nine times out of ten impossible: hitch your wagon to a star, and you'll just stay where you are. 1939 R. Boothby Let. 27 May in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1976) V. li. 1072 One of the few things in my life of which I am proud is that in all matters of major policy during the past 5 years I have hitched by waggon to your star. 1953 E. Waugh Love among Ruins i. 10 ‘The Minister of Welfare and the Minister of Rest and Culture,’ continued the Chief Guide. ‘The stars to which we have hitched our waggon.’ 1978 J. Hyams Pool iv. 44 Overweight and sedentary, he was content to hitch his wagon to David's star. |
b. on the wagon, abstaining from alcoholic drink, teetotal. See
water-wagon (a)
s.v. water n. 29.
orig. U.S.| 1906 B. J. Taylor Extra Dry 14 It is better to have been on and off the Wagon than never to have been on at all. 1917 J. M. Grider War Birds (1927) 23 Springs put him on the wagon for a week. 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood xiv. 218 ‘Was he oiled when the accident happened?’ ‘No, he was on the wagon again.’ 1951 L. Hellman Autumn Garden iii. 138 A few years ago I'd go on the wagon twice a year. Now..I don't care. 1976 L. Deighton Twinkle, twinkle, Little Spy viii. 83 They dug him out of a bar.., stoned out of his mind... He stayed on the wagon for years. |
c. to fix (someone's) wagon, to bring about (a person's) downfall, to spoil (his) chances of success.
Cf. fix v. 14 c.
U.S. slang.| 1951 T. Capote Grass Harp i. 13 She said her brother would fix my wagon, which he did; right here at the corner of my mouth I've still got a scar where he hit me. 1959 J. D. Salinger in New Yorker 6 June 119/1 What ever became of that stalwart bore Fortinbras? Who eventually fixed his wagon? 1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xxvii. 322 At least he could fix Merlyn's wagon, Ford was beyond his reach. He tried getting her fixed by organizing a campaign of hate mail from fans. |
12. attrib. and
Comb.:
a. attributive, as
wagon-cover,
wagon-frame,
wagon-hire,
wagon-horse,
wagon-ox,
wagon-pole,
wagon-rut,
wagon-sail,
wagon-shed,
wagon-spoke,
wagon-spoor,
wagon-sprag,
wagon-tilt,
wagon-tongue,
wagon-wheel,
wagon whip.
| 1832 Boston (Lincs.) Her. 31 July 1 A great Stock of lately-improved *Waggon-Covers. |
| 1847 Emerson Poems, Threnody 49 Awhile to..mend his [a child's] wicker *waggon-frame. |
| 1553 in Burgon Gresham (1839) I. iii. 141 And to [be] layd upon every waggon iij dry fatts, for the avoyding of the great charge of *waggon-hyre. |
| 1585 Higins Junius' Nomencl. 40/2 Iumentum plaustrarium,..a cart horse, or *waggon horse. 1829 Scott Anne of G. xiv, A city-bred burgher of Ghent, Liege, or Ypres, is as distinct an animal from a knight of Hainault, as a Flanders waggon-horse from a Spanish jennet. |
| 1864 Kingsley Roman & T. i. (1875) 7 The horns of the *waggon-oxen. |
| 1768 E. Holdsworth Virgil 154 It is very common at this time, in several parts of Italy, to cover the end of the *waggon-pole with plates of brass. |
| 1660 Hexham ii, Een wagen-leese, a *Wagon-rut. 1848 Dickens Dombey xv, The new streets that had stopped disheartened in the mud and waggon-ruts. |
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. vii. 140 These mats are also used instead of *waggon-sails, and are very effectual in resisting both sun and rain. 1896 Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign xvi, We have put our waterproof sheets ready on going to bed, and sometimes have spread the waggon-sails over the waggons. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Wagon-shed, a shelter for carts and wagons. 1886 Hardy Woodlanders iv, The daylight revealed the whole of Mr. Melbury's homestead, of which the waggon-sheds had been an outlying erection. |
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iv. 59 Her *Waggon Spokes made of long Spinners legs. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet ii. ii. 129 Her companion used the reversed pistol-butt against the wagon-spoke and the brass knuckles of the other two. |
| 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting vi. 174 On reaching the road, I saw fresh *wagon-spoor. |
| 1885 Times 31 Oct. 8/3 The railway servants..armed with sticks and *wagon ‘spraggs’, then advanced upon the criminals' place of concealment. |
| 1832 Planting 90 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The lower ends of ash poles cut from six to eighteen feet long... They are cleft for the use of the cooper, *waggon-tilts, &c. |
| 1845 J. Palmer Jrnl. Trav. Rocky Mts. (1847) 18 Our pilot notified us that this would be our last opportunity to procure timber for axle trees, *wagon tongues, etc. 1860 Mayne Reid Hunters' Feast xvii, The breaking of our waggon-tongue..delayed our journey. |
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. v. ii. 54, I will dismount, and by the *Waggon wheele, Trot like a Seruile footeman. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Considerations Wks. (Bohn) II. 418 But who dares draw out the linchpin from the wagon-wheel? |
| 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxv, Their rude drivers..began to debate precedence with their *waggon-whips and quarter-staves. |
b. objective and
obj. genitive, as
wagon builder,
wagon driver,
wagon maker,
wagon making.
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. i. 4 A cap⁓tent waggon..requires the hand of a skilful *waggon-builder. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Waggon dryuer, iugarius. 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. i. 15 A waggon-driver.., a stout active Hottentot. |
| 1558 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 51 Skinners Sadlers *waggen makers. 1873 J. Richards Wood-working Factories 181 Wagon and carriage makers mainly use parallel iron vices. |
c. instrumental, as
wagon-travelling;
d. similative, as
wagon-shaped adj.| 1837 L. Hebert Engin. & Mech. Encycl. II. 742 The kind of boiler attached to this engine is of the waggon-shaped kind. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting viii. 304 The natural concomitants of wagon-travelling. |
13. Special comb.:
wagon-bed, the body of a wagon; also, the bottom of the body;
wagon-boiler, a form of engine-boiler (see
quot.);
† wagon-borough [
ad. Du. or G.
wagenburg], a defensive enclosure or barricade formed of baggage-wagons placed close together;
wagon boss N. Amer., the man in charge of a wagon-train; a wagon-master;
wagon-bow (see
quot.);
wagon box, (
a)
U.S., the body of a wagon; a wagon-bed; (
b) a large storage chest,
usu. kept under the front seat of a wagon (also used as an article of domestic furniture);
wagon-breast U.S., a breast or working place in a coal-mine in which the wagons are taken up to the working face;
wagon-ceiling Arch. (see
quot.);
wagon chest = wagon box (
b);
† wagon-coach = post wagon;
wagon-corps Mil. = Corps of Wagoners s.v. wagoner1 1;
wagon-coupling (see
quot.);
wagon-drag, a shoebrake for a wagon;
wagon-drift S. Afr., a passage for wagons across a river;
wagon-gallery, a gallery in a mine along which the wagons run;
wagon-hammer (see
quot.);
wagon-house, a house, shed or shelter for wagons;
† wagon-hunter Cant, an agent of a brothel-keeper who for base purposes visited the inns at which the stage-wagons stopped;
wagon-jack,
-lock (see
quots.);
wagon-man, the driver of a wagon, a wagoner;
wagon-master, a person who has charge of one or more wagons;
spec. Mil., an officer commanding the wagon-train;
wagon-road, a road for the passage of wagons;
spec. in
Coal-mining, a prepared road or railway for the haulage of wagons;
wagon-roof = wagon-vault;
wagon table (see
quot. and sense 9 above);
wagon-tent S. Afr., the tent-like canopy of a covered wagon;
wagon-tipper (see
quot.);
wagon-top, the part of a locomotive-boiler, over the fire-box, which is elevated above the rest of the shell to provide greater steam-room (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
wagon-track, the track made by the passage of wagons;
wagon-train Mil., a train, collection, or service of transport wagons; also, a train of wagons used by colonial settlers;
wagon-tree = wagenboom;
wagon-vault (see
quot. 1892); hence
wagon-vaulted a.;
wagon-work, the construction and repair of wagons;
wagon-wright, a maker or repairer of wagons; a wainwright;
wagon-yard, a depôt for wagons used on a road or railway. Also
wagon-head,
wagon-load,
wagon-way.
| 1853 A. S. Knight in Trans. Oregon Pioneer Assoc. (1933) 40 There is no ferry here and the men will have to make one out of the tightest *wagon-bed. 1885 Howells in Century Mag. Sept. 672/1 In the grassy piazza two men had a humble show of figs and cakes for sale in their wagon-beds. 1891 C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 179 For though the river was fordable with care, the water came over the waggon-bed. |
| 1837 L. Hebert Engin. & Mech. Encycl. I. 197 Those known by the term of ‘*waggon boilers’, from their shape, formed one of the many improvements of the steam engine introduced by Watt. |
| 1548 W. Patten Exped. Scot. F 1 b, [Fearing a night attack we] entrenched our cariages and *waggen-boorowe, had good skout without and sure watch within. |
| 1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West 98 Our ‘*wagon-boss’, absolute monarch of a train while on the road, rejoiced in the name of John Monkins. 1973 R. Symons Where Wagon Led i. vi. 92 The wagon boss is an important man. You don't talk to him, but when he talks to you, you keep your ears clean. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Wagon-bow, an arched-shaped slat with its ends planted in staples on the wagon-bed sides. Used to elevate the tilt or cover. |
| 1810 in Austin Papers (1924) I. 168, 13 *Wagon Boxes. 1852 M. B. Hudson S. Afr. Frontier Life I. 206 We come to a door's been off a long while, Near to which stands a wagon-box sacred to books. 1853 V. Williams in Trans. Oregon Pioneer Assoc. (1922) 196 A number of other wagon boxes have been ripped for skiffs and ply singly. 1946 G. Foreman Last Trek 250 The camp was devastated by a tornado that carried wagon boxes, camp equipage, and some of the people through the air. 1969 N. W. Parsons Upon Sagebrush Harp i. 2 The double wagon box on the stoneboat was our own, and it was full of our household goods. |
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., *Wagon-breast. A breast into which wagons can be taken. |
| 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 475/2 *Waggon-Ceiling, a boarded roof of the Tudor time, either of semicircular or polygonal section. It is boarded with thin oak, and ornamented with mouldings forming panels, and with loops at the intersections. |
| 1827 G. Thompson Trav. S. Afr. II. 134 A couple of *waggon-chests. 1968 S. Stander Horse 75 He sat on the wagon-chest. |
| 1675 Lond. Gaz. No. 1047/4 Lost..out of the *Waggon-Coach, passing from Hertford to London, a Letter. 1676 Lady A. Fanshawe Mem. (1829) 126 We hired a waggon-coach, for there is no other at Calais. |
| 1810 C. James Milit. Dict., Corps of Wagoners, or royal *Wagon corps. 1817 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 4) 279 The Austrian waggon corps. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Wagon-coupling, one for attaching the hind axle to the fore. |
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. II. xxx. 284 We held thither at a sharp trot, holding for the old *waggon drift. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 853 The ores are raised in these shafts to the level of the *waggon-gallery (galerie de roulage) by the whims provided with ropes and buckets. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Wagon-hammer, the vertical bolt which connects the double-tree to the tongue, and upon which the double-tree swings. |
| 1660 Hexham ii, Een wagen-huys, a *wagon-house. 1758 Ann. Reg. i. 79/2 He..made him up a bed of straw in the waggon, under the waggon-house. 1886 Hardy Woodlanders iii, This erection was the waggon-house of the chief man of business. |
| c 1766 Cheats of Lond. Exposed 46 *Waggon-hunters. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Wagon-jack, one for lifting the wheels of a wagon clear of the ground. |
| Ibid., *Wagon-lock, a device to bring a friction on the wheels of a wagon to retard its motion in descending hills. |
| 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 484 The *wagon-man that had charge of me set an Indian carpenter a worke to mend the wheele. 1764 London Mag. Mar. 144/2 What the waggon-men call a bye-way, made for the unloaded waggons to be drawn to the pitts. |
| 1645 in Papers rel. Army Solemn League & Cov. (S.H.S.) II. 502 *Waggonm{supr}{sups} of the Army. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 163/2 Wagonmaster generall 10 s. per diem. Ibid. 164/1 The Waggon maister 5 s. Waggoners each 2 s. 1757 Washington Let. Writ. 1889 I. 492 The commissary used to act as wagon-master. 1861 Wagon-master [see forage-master s.v. forage n. 4]. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 17 June 1-c/5 Actor John MacIntire, known as wagonmaster on the television program, ‘Wagon Train’. |
| 1774 Pennsylv. Gaz. 10 Aug. Suppl. 2/3 To the latter there is a good *waggon road already opened. 1884 Jefferies Life of Fields 58 A white butterfly follows along the waggon-road. 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 371 Assisting the pioneers to make the waggon road. |
| 1866 Howells Venet. Life xi. 151 The low *wagon-roofs of the cross-naves. 1899 Baring-Gould Bk. of West I. ii. 35 In a good many cases the waggon roofs are but ceiled cradle roofs. |
| 1844 T. Webster Encycl. Dom. Econ. 240 Moving sideboards, or *waggon tables. |
| 1845 Cape of Good Hope Almanac (Advt.), Country people can be supplied with..3-inch Canvas for *wagontents. 1926 P. Smith Beadle 59 The women wore stiffly starched plain white sun-bonnets, like miniature wagon-tents. 1955 W. Robertson Blue Wagon viii. 72, I was in the wagon-tent when those kaffirs came. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Wagon-tipper, a device for tilting a wagon in order to dump its load. |
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. II. xx. 76 The larger of these caves is situated on the west side of the *waggon-track. 1884 Jefferies Life of Fields 57 Leverets play in the waggon-track. |
| 1810 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1838) VI. 302, I shall endeavor to send you..some horses and drivers belonging to the *waggon train. 1888 J. C. Harris Free Joe, etc. 181 For years and years before the war it had been noted as the meeting-place of the waggon-trains by means of which the planters transported their produce to market. |
| 1822 W. J. Burchell Trav. S. Afr. I. 123 heading, The *Waggon-tree. |
| 1835 R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages vii. 72 Amongst the various forms of vaulted apartments..rectangles are of frequent occurrence, and these for the most part are covered with a *waggon vault. 1892 Dict. Arch. (Arch. Publ. Soc.), Waggon roof or vault. A roof, semicircular in section, but somewhat higher than a semicircle or barrel roof, by rising from vertical sides. |
| 1835 R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages vii. 68 *Waggon-vaulted apartments. |
| 1850 R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. I. i. 16 note, Several coarse chisels for *waggon-work. 1887 C. A. Moloney Forestry W. Afr. 378 Wood tough, used chiefly for wagon-work. |
| 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Wagon-wright, a maker and mender of wagons. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 66 [Newcastle terms.] Waggonwright, a man who makes and repairs the chaldron waggons. |
| 1827 E. Mackenzie Hist. Newcastle II. 722 A waggon set out for London from the general *waggon-yard..every day. |
▪ II. wagon, waggon, v. (
ˈwægən)
[f. wagon n.] 1. intr. To travel in a wagon; to transport goods by wagon. Chiefly
U.S.| 1606 N. B[axter] Sydney's Ourania D 1, She waggoneth to Neptunes Pallace than. 1794 E. Denny Jrnl. 18 Oct. (1860) 403 The French had opened the Indian path..and wagoned considerably upon it. 1828–32 Webster, Wagon, v. i. To practice the transportation of goods in a wagon. The man wagons between Philadelphia and Pittsburg. a 1904 A. Adams Log Cowboy ix. 129 It was a hundred miles to wagon from the freight point where we got our supplies. 1907 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Windfall vi. 103, I can't figure out how the lydy managed to stay so stiff and starched these seven miles and more, waggoning down from the mountain. |
2. trans. To put into a wagon for conveyance.
| 1649 Davenant Love & Hon. i. i. 1/2 Is all our pillage waggond? Ibid. 3/1 See him well waggond, and provide A surgeon to attend his cure. 1795 Sporting Mag. V. 35 Our party..bagged, or rather waggoned 876 hares. 1812 J. Flaxman Let. W. Hayley 20 Feb. in Pearson's Catal. (1886) No. 60 Resignation is at length in, waggoned for Feltham. |
3. U.S. To transport (goods) in a wagon or by means of a train of wagons. Also with
up.
| 1755 Washington Let. Writ. 1889 I. 187 The quantity is too great for the present consumption, and to wagon it up can never answer the expense. 1779 Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 216 They have bought quantities of flour for these troops in Cumberland, have ordered it to be wagoned down to Manchester, and wagoned thence up to the barracks. 1782 ― Notes State Virginia (1787) 39 The ore is first waggoned to the river. 1856 Olmsted Slave States v. 321 Sometimes they had had to buy corn at a dollar a bushel, and wagon it home from Raleigh. |