Etymograph

English

taxi

Taxi comes from French taximètre ‘taximeter’, and goes back to Medieval Latin taxa ‘tax, charge’.

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500taxa1‘tax, charge’
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentTaxameter1‘taximeter’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presenttaximètre1‘taximeter’
  4. English1500–presenttaximeter1‘automatic meter that records distance and fare’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1912taxi1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English taxi
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, Flight: The Aircraft Engineer:: “Capt. Dawes and Bellairs were out with the Deperdussin…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500taxaWiktionary, English taxi‘tax, charge’
  2. Germanc. 1650–presentTaxameterWiktionary, English taxi‘taximeter’
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presenttaximètreWiktionary, English taxi‘taximeter’
  4. English1500–presenttaximeterWiktionary, English taxi‘automatic meter that records distance and fare’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1912taxiWiktionary, English taxi. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1912, Flight: The Aircraft Engineer:: “Capt. Dawes and Bellairs were out with the Deperdussin…”

The story

Shortened from taximeter cab, taximeter (‘automatic meter that records distance and fare’) from French taximètre, from German Taxameter (whence also English taxameter), coined from Medieval Latin taxa (‘tax, charge’). The aviation sense originally derived from a slang term for training aircraft used for practicing ground operations, which were said to drive around the airfield like a taxicab, and subsequently applied to all aircraft ground movements.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Medieval Latin taxa ‘tax, charge’

tax, 1 more

Today it means

noun A vehicle that may be hired for single journeys by members of the public, particularly one with an automated meter to calculate the fare.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “taxi”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Medieval Latin taxa / taxi

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