chauffeur
UK /ʃɒˈfɜː/ · US /ʃoʊˈfɝ/ noun, verb
Forms chauffeurs chauffeuring chauffeured
- noun A person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).
- noun (firefighting) The driver of a fire truck.
- verb (intransitive) To be, or act as, a chauffeur (driver of a motor car).
- verb (transitive) To transport (someone) in a motor vehicle.
- noun (historical) A brigand belonging to the bands who, around 1793, pillaged, burned, and killed in parts of France.
Synonyms
Etymology
From French chauffeur (“heater, stoker”), as they were said to burn the feet of their victims to extort money.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “chauffeur”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details