Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA type of motor vehicle designed to move on the ground under its own stored power and intended to carry a driver, a small number of additional passengers, and a very limited amount of other load.
verbTo travel by automobile.
Sentence Examples
Because of the problem of air pollution, the bicycle may some day replace the automobile.
Falling interest rates have stimulated the automobile market.
She saved money for months to buy a new ____ for college.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The first ____ was invented in the late nineteenth century in Europe.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.?
Proto-Indo-European *sóder.?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.
Ancient Greek αὖ (aû)
Ancient Greek τόν (tón)?
Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós)
Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor.
French auto-
Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-der.
Proto-Italic *moweō
Latin moveō
Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr
Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom
Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis
Proto-Italic *-ðlis
Latin -bilis
Latin mōbilislbor.
French mobile
French automobilebor.
English automobile
From French automobile, from Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + French mobile (“moving”), from Latin mōbilis (“movable”), equivalent to auto- (“self”) + mobile.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident."
— 2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:
"The misguided youngsters are yachting, attending the races, playing the "stage Johnny," automobiling, playing poker for high stakes, overliving at home, on expensive shopping tours, attending box parties to the theatre, visiting high-priced restaurants, etc., etc."
— 1909, “"How Can He Do It?"”, in Notions and Fancy Goods, volume 43, page 30:
"As early as 1898 I proposed to representatives of a large manufacturing concern the construction and public exhibition of an automobile carriage which, left to itself, would perform a great variety of operations involving something akin to judgment."
— 1919, Nikola Tesla, My Inventions: