Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1890s
Chauffeur
from chauffeur
- Meaning
- One who heats — originally the stoker of a steam engine.
- Source word
- chauffeur
- Route into English
- French *chauffer* (to heat) → English via early motoring journalism. Early French motorists were called "chauffeurs" because early cars had to be warmed up like steam engines.
- Arrived
- 1890s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
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