carriage

 
Pronunciation: /ˈkarɪdʒ/

noun

  • 1a means of conveyance, in particular:
  • British any of the separate sections of a train that carry passengers: the first-class carriages
  • a four-wheeled passenger vehicle pulled by two or more horses: a horse-drawn carriage
  • a wheeled support for moving a heavy object such as a gun: a US army howitzer and carriage
  • 2 [mass noun] British the conveying of goods or passengers from one place to another: the carriage of bikes on public transport
  • 3a moving part of a machine that carries other parts into the required position: a typewriter carriage
  • 4 [in singular] a person’s bearing or deportment: her carriage was graceful, her movements quick and deft
  • 5 [mass noun] the harbouring of a potentially disease-causing organism by a person or animal that does not contract the disease.

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old Northern French cariage, from carier (see carry)

Spelling rule

If a word ends in a consonant plus -y (in this case, carry), change the -y to an -i before adding any ending (unless the ending already begins with an -i): carriage.