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wagon-lit

[French va-gawn-lee]
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noun, plural wa·gons-lits [va-gawn-lee] /va gɔ̃ˈli/.
  1. (in continental European usage) a railroad sleeping car.
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Origin of wagon-lit

1880–85; < French, equivalent to wagon railway coach (< E) + lit bed (< Latin lectus)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

roomettesleeperwagon-lit

Examples from the Web for wagon-lit

Historical Examples

  • Every wagon-lit in Berlin had been commandeered by the staff.

    The Day of Wrath

    Louis Tracy

  • They stood at the door of their wagon-lit in the Côte d'Azur Rapide, searching the crowded platform for him.

    Swirling Waters

    Max Rittenberg

  • I hope the wagon-lit proved a compensation for your temporary effacement, laughed Stuart.

    Twos and Threes

    G. B. Stern

  • Just fancy, Stuart burst forth, the indignity of having to ask permission before one could keep a fox-terrier or a wagon-lit.

    Twos and Threes

    G. B. Stern

  • From the window of the wagon-lit Mrs. Shiffney looked at the two men standing together as the train drew away from the platform.

    The Way of Ambition

    Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for wagon-lit

wagon-lit

noun plural wagons-lits (vaɡɔ̃li)
  1. a sleeping car on a European railway
  2. a compartment on such a car
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Word Origin

C19: from French, from wagon railway coach + lit bed
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