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Synonyms

wagon-lit

American  
[va-gawn-lee] / va gɔ̃ˈli /

noun

  • wagons-lits
    plural
  1. (in continental European usage) a railroad sleeping car.


wagon-lit British  
/ vaɡɔ̃li /

noun

  1. a sleeping car on a European railway

  2. a compartment on such a car

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of wagon-lit

First recorded in 1880–85; from French, equivalent to wagon “railway coach” (from English ) + lit “bed” (from Latin lectus )


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"The British have a wagon-lit to ourselves with all possible conveniences: there are several other wagon-lits and a dining saloon," he wrote.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2018

In my first-class wagon-lit compartment, the washbasin was dirty.

From Time Magazine Archive

Soon she would be gone, rattling alone in the wagon-lit without me, and he and I would be together in the dining-room of the hotel, lunching at the same table, planning the future.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

I dragged myself back from Christmas at Manderley to the realities of the wagon-lit.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

These trains were so booked up at this season, he might not have been able to secure a wagon-lit.

From Juggernaut by Alice Campbell

In a latched compartment of the wagons-lits rode an elderly intriguer, Prince Barbu Stirbey of Rumania, and his elegant daughter, Princess Elise, wife of a British major.

From Time Magazine Archive

The party played cards, ate with their official hosts in the cheery dining car, slept in soft berths as the wagons-lits swayed leisurely westward.

From Time Magazine Archive

During the trip Carol neglected to shave before the ingenious folding washstand provided in the individual compartments of all wagons-lits.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Czechoslovaks remained parked in the depot all night, the windows of their wagons-lits glowing during long strategy sessions.

From Time Magazine Archive

La bonne compagnie they found in the lounges of great hotels, on transatlantic liners, in wagons-lits, in music-halls, and in expensive motor-cars and restaurants.

From Since Cézanne by Clive Bell

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