char-à-banc

or char·a·banc

[ shar-uh-bang, -bangk; French sha-ra-bahn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, British.

, plural char-à-bancs [-bangz, -bangks, sh, a, -, r, a, -, bahn].

a large bus used on sightseeing tours, especially one with open sides and no center aisle.

1810–20; back formation from French char-à-bancs literally, car with benches, the -s being taken as plural ending of word as a whole

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