1. "Carr" (Old French): The most direct ancestor is the Old French word "car," meaning "a small, wheeled vehicle." This term was likely derived from the Vulgar Latin *carrus*, a word of Celtic origin. While the exact Celtic root is debated, many scholars suggest a connection to a Proto-Celtic word for a "wheeled vehicle" or "wagon".
2. "Carriage": From this Old French "car," the English word "carriage" emerged, initially referring to a wheeled vehicle, especially a passenger vehicle drawn by horses.
3. "Car" (Shortening): Over time, the word "car" became a shortened, informal form of "carriage," gaining wider usage. This process of shortening is common in language evolution.
4. Modern Usage: The shortened "car" eventually superseded "carriage" as the primary term for a self-propelled motor vehicle. This shift in meaning happened in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the rise of the automobile.
Therefore, the full origin of "car" traces back to a Proto-Celtic word for a wheeled vehicle, evolving through Old French ("car") and English ("carriage") before becoming the ubiquitous term we know today. The transition from horse-drawn carriage to automobile simply repurposed an existing word with a rich history of denoting wheeled transport.
