limousine
- any large, luxurious automobile, especially one driven by a chauffeur.
- a large sedan or small bus, especially one for transporting passengers to and from an airport, between train stations, etc.
- a former type of automobile having a permanently enclosed compartment for from three to five persons, with a roof projecting forward over the driver's seat in front.
Origin of limousine
Examples from the Web for limousine
Contemporary Examples
"She looked me in the eye," one limousine driver recalled, surprised and grateful.
Abdi worked with his brother in a mobile phone store, as a DJ, and most recently, a limousine driver.
Knowing of their poverty, Jackson even sent a limousine to drive the entire family.
When Edie took her limousine downtown to join them, they found her perfectly capable of holding her own.
The limousine was a couple hundred yards from the western end of the bridge when it went up in flames.
Historical Examples
Madeline climbed in beside her parent and the limousine rolled away.
The PortygeeJoseph Crosby Lincoln
At the same instant the limousine leaped to full speed ahead.
The Mind MasterArthur J. Burks
The man caught him under the arms and tossed him into the tonneau of a limousine at the curb.
The Mind MasterArthur J. Burks
As she stepped into the limousine, she said to John: “Home, please.”
The Wall Street GirlFrederick Orin Bartlett
As John started to close the door of the limousine, Frances glanced at her watch.
The Wall Street GirlFrederick Orin Bartlett
limousine
- any large and luxurious car, esp one that has a glass division between the driver and passengers
- a former type of car in which the roof covering the rear seats projected over the driver's compartment
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for limousine
n.
1902, "enclosed automobile with open driver's seat," from French limousine, from Limousin, region in central France, originally an adjective referring to its chief city, Limoges, from Latin Lemovices, name of a people who lived near there, perhaps named in reference to their elm spears or bows. The Latin adjective form of the name, Lemovicinus, is the source of French Limousin.
Modern automobile meaning evolved from perceived similarity of the car's profile to a type of hood worn by the inhabitants of that province. Since 1930s, synonymous in American English with "luxury car;" applied from 1959 to vehicles that take people to and from large airports. Limousine liberal first attested 1969.