buckwagon

See also: buck-wagon

English

Alternative forms

• buck-wagon

Etymology

From Afrikaans bok (“buck; goat”) and English wagon. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests a possible derivation from Middle English bouk (“belly”) or Old English buc (“buck; deer”).

Noun

buckwagon (plural buckwagons)

1. (South Africa) A strong wagon with a frame over the wheels used for hauling goods.
   • 1871, "An Act to Promote the Construction of a Bridge or Bridges over the Orange River", Cape of Good Hope:

     Upon each loaded buck-wagon, drawn by any sort of animals, not exceeding sixteen in number £0.17s.6d.

2. (US) A buckboard; a wagon for personal transport as well as transporting goods.
   • 1880, B.B. Simms, “Post-Office Deficiencies § Texas”, in United States congressional serial set, page 304:

     ...while on the remaining days of the week a two-horse buck-wagon or hack is used.

References

• "buckwagon" in Noah Webster, Chauncey Goodrich, Noah Porter, and James Hadley. An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1864
• "buck, n.5" in Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• “buckwagon”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.