limousine

noun

1. any large, luxurious automobile, especially one driven by a chauffeur.
2. a large sedan or small bus, especially one for transporting passengers to and from an airport, between train stations, etc.
3. a former type of automobile having a permanently enclosed compartment for from three to five persons, with a roof projecting forward over the driver’s seat in front.

noun

1. any large and luxurious car, esp one that has a glass division between the driver and passengers
2. a former type of car in which the roof covering the rear seats projected over the driver’s compartment

n.1902, “enclosed automobile with open driver’s seat,” from French limousine, from Limousin, region in central France, originally an adjective referring to its chief city, Limoges, from Latin Lemovices, name of a people who lived near there, perhaps named in reference to their elm spears or bows. The Latin adjective form of the name, Lemovicinus, is the source of French Limousin. Modern automobile meaning evolved from perceived similarity of the car’s profile to a type of hood worn by the inhabitants of that province. Since 1930s, synonymous in American English with “luxury car;” applied from 1959 to vehicles that take people to and from large airports. Limousine liberal first attested 1969.