perambulator

American  

[per-am-byuh-ley-ter] / pərˈæm byəˌleɪ tər /

noun

1. Chiefly British: Older Use. a baby carriage; pram.

2. an odometer pushed by a person walking.

3. (formerly) a person who makes a tour of inspection on foot.

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perambulator British  

/ pəˈræmbjʊˌleɪtə /

noun

1. a formal word for pram 1

2. a wheel-like instrument used by surveyors to measure distances

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Etymology

Origin of perambulator

First recorded in 1605–15; 1850–55 perambulator for def. 1; from Medieval Latin “inspector, surveyor”; from Latin perambulāt-, past participle stem of perambulāre “to ramble, stroll”; see origin at perambulate, -or;

Explanation

A perambulator is an old-fashioned word for a baby carriage. You might see parents pushing perambulators through the park. The word perambulator isn't often used today — in Britain, people are more likely to call it a "pram," while in the U.S. these wheeled contraptions used for transporting babies are more commonly known as "strollers." An older meaning, and one still used today in a joking way, is "person who strolls around," or perambulates, from a root meaning "walk around," which is related to amble.

Example Sentences

She beckons me over to look at a 19th-century perambulator, its fittings designed to resemble coiling snakes, the creatures that appear on the Duke of Devonshire’s family crest.

From The Guardian • Mar. 22, 2018

If he ever winds up testifying, we will have to wheel him in in a perambulator, so young and helpless will he have become.

From Washington Post • Jul. 13, 2017

As a solitary perambulator, Moreau has a singular magnetism.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2016

Then the infamous four-figure Bugaboo debuted, and a lot of upper-income families bought the pricy and flashy perambulator.

From Slate • Jan. 22, 2015

There was a small dark doorway between the windows, and through this Mary Poppins propelled the perambulator while Jane and Michael followed at her heels.

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

Related Words

• hiker