truck

pronunciation

How to pronounce truck in British English: UK [trʌk] word uk audio image

How to pronounce truck in American English: US [trʌk] word us audio image

Noun:

an automotive vehicle suitable for hauling
a handcart that has a frame with two low wheels and a ledge at the bottom and handles at the top; used to move crates or other heavy objects
Verb:

convey (goods etc.) by truck

Word Origin

truck: truck: English has two distinct words truck. The earlier, ‘dealings’, as in ‘have no truck with’, was originally a verb, meaning ‘exchange, barter’ [13]. It was borrowed from Anglo- Norman *truquer, but its ultimate ancestry is unknown. Americans call a ‘market garden’ a truck farm, from the former practice of bartering its produce. Truck ‘goods vehicle’ [17] is generally assumed to be short for truckle; it was originally used for a ‘small wooden wheel’, particularly one on the carriage of a naval cannon.=> truckle

truck (n.1): "vehicle," 1610s, originally "small wheel" (especially one on which the carriages of a ship's guns were mounted), probably from Latin trochus "iron hoop," from Greek trokhos "wheel," from trekhein "to run" (see truckle (n.)). Sense extended to "cart for carrying heavy loads" (1774), then in American English to "motor vehicle for carrying heavy loads" (1913), a shortened form of motor truck in this sense (1901). There have also been lost to the enemy 6,200 guns, 2,550 tanks and 70,000 trucks, which is the American name for lorries, and which, I understand, has been adopted by the combined staffs in North-West Africa in exchange for the use of the word petrol in place of gasolene. [Winston Churchill, address to joint session of U.S. Congress, May 19, 1943] Truck stop is attested from 1956.

truck (v.1): "to exchange, barter," early 13c., from Old North French troquer "to barter, exchange," from Medieval Latin trocare "barter," of unknown origin. Rare before 16c. Sense of "have dealings with" is first recorded 1610s. The noun is first recorded 1550s, "act or practice of barter." Sense of "vegetables raised for market" is from 1784, preserved in truck farm (1866).

truck (v.2): "to convey on a truck," 1809, from truck (n.). Verbal meaning "dance, move in a cool way," first attested 1935, from popular dance of that name in U.S., supposedly introduced at Cotton Club, 1933. Related: Trucked; trucking.

truck (n.2): 1530s, "act or practice of barter, trading by exchange," from French troque, from troquer (see truck (v.1)). Sense of "dealings" is from 1620s. "Exchange of commodities, barter," then "commodities for barter and exchange." In this sense the word was given a wide use in 19c. American English: "Truck at first meant market-garden produce; then it came to mean stuff in general, including 'doctor-stuff.' SPUN TRUCK is knitting work" [Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912]. Sense of "vegetables raised for market" is from 1784, preserved in truck farm (1866).