- For other meanings, see Truck (disambiguation).
A
truck (
lorry in
British English) is a
motor vehicle for
transporting goods. The word "truck" comes from the Greek "trochos", meaning "wheel". In America, the big wheels of wagons were called trucks. When the petrol engine driven trucks came into fashion, these were called "motortrucks" and the
Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV)). The British term is, however, only used for the medium and heavy types (see below), i.e. a
van, a
pickup or a
SUV would never be regarded a "lorry" . Other languages have
loanwords based on these terms, such as the
Malay lori and the
Mexican Spanish truck (or
pickup in northern Mexico).
In Australia and New Zealand a small vehicle with an open back is called a ute (short for "utility vehicle") and the word "truck" is reserved for larger vehicles.
Sentinel_DG4_registration_KF_6482.jpg steam lorry.]]
History
Steam trucks
Trucks and cars have a common ancestor: the steam-powered "fardier"
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built in 1769. However, steam trucks were not common until the mid-1800s. The roads of the time, built for horse and carriages, limited these vehicles to very short hauls, usually from a factory to the nearest
railway station. The first
semi-trailer appeared in 1881, towed by a
De Dion steam tractor. Steam-powered trucks were sold in
France and the
United States until the eve of
World War I, and the beginning of
World War II in the
United Kingdom.
More on
[ Truck ]
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