phaeton

[fey-i-tn or, especially Brit., feyt-n] Origin

pha·e·ton

[fey-i-tn or, especially Brit., feyt-n]
noun
1.
any of various light, four-wheeled carriages, with or without a top, having one or two seats facing forward, used in the 19th century.
2.
a vintage automobile of the touring-car type.

Origin:
1585–95; special use of Latin Phaetōn, variant of Phaethōn Phaethon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Phaeton is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
phaeton (ˈfeɪtən)
 
n
a light four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with or without a top, usually having two seats
 
[C18: from Phaëthon]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

phaeton
type of light four-wheeled carriage, 1742, from Fr. (1735), from Gk. Phaethon name of the son of Helios and Clymene, who tried to drive his father's sun-chariot but crashed after almost setting fire to the whole earth. His name is lit. "shining," from phaein "to shine, gleam," from phaos "light." Earlier
EXPAND
as a name for a rash or adventurous driver (1593).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

phaeton

open, four-wheeled, doorless carriage, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It contained one or two seats, usually had a folding, or falling, top, and was owner-driven (i.e., it had no outside driver's seat). The most spectacular phaeton was the English four-wheeled high-flyer, the body of which consisted of a light seat for two, resting atop two sets of springs and reached by ladder.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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