'rickshaw

See also: rickshaw

English

Etymology

Because the Japanese 力車 (rikisha) is an abbreviation of 人力車 (jinrikisha), some authors have insisted that the English term also be marked as an abbreviation, as if abbreviated from jinrickshaw.

Noun

'rickshaw (plural 'rickshaws)

1. (dated, hypercorrect) Alternative form of rickshaw
   • 1890, Rudyard Kipling, The Phantom 'Rickshaw: And Other Tales‎^[1], pages 16—17:

     I had originally some wild notion of confiding it all to Kitty ; of begging her to marry me at once ; and in her arms defying the ghostly occupant of the 'rickshaw. "After all," I argued, "the presence of the 'rickshaw is in itself enough to prove the existence of a spectral illusion. One may see ghosts of men and women, but surely never of coolies and carriages. The whole thing is absurd. Fancy the ghost of a hill-man !"

Anagrams

• Harwicks