locomotive
pronunciation
How to pronounce locomotive in British English:
UK [ˌləʊkəˈməʊtɪv]
How to pronounce locomotive in American English:
US [ˌloʊkəˈmoʊtɪv]
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- Noun:
- a wheeled vehicle consisting of a self-propelled engine that is used to draw trains along railway tracks
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- Adjective:
- of or relating to locomotion
Word Origin
- locomotive
- locomotive: [17] Locomotive denotes etymologically ‘moving by change of place’. It is an anglicization of modern Latin locōmōtīvus, a compound formed from locus ‘place’ and mōtīvus ‘causing to move’ (source of English motive). Originally it was used strictly as an adjective, and it was not until the early 19th century that the present-day noun use (which began life as an abbreviation of locomotive engine) emerged.
- locomotive (adj.)
- 1610s, "pertaining to movement," from French locomotif, from Latin loco "from a place" (ablative of locus "place;" see locus) + Late Latin motivus "moving" (see motive). The noun meaning "railroad engine" is from 1829, short for locomotive engine (1814).
Example
- 1. Now it looks like the locomotive of europe .
- 2. Otherwise the locomotive is likely to stall .
- 3. Throughout the eurozone crisis , germany has steamed ahead like a locomotive .
- 4. From being a locomotive of growth , the us has become dependent on growth elsewhere .
- 5. This artificial reality included a circle of railway track about a block in diameter and a locomotive about chest high .