cabriolet

[ kab-ree-uh-ley ]

/ ˌkæb ri əˈleɪ /

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noun

a light, two-wheeled, one-horse carriage with a folding top, capable of seating two persons.

an automobile resembling a coupe but with a folding top.

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Origin of cabriolet

1760–70; <French: literally, little caper; so called from its light movement. See cabriole, -et

Words nearby cabriolet

cabrilla, Cabrillo, Cabrini, cabrio, cabriole, cabriolet, cabrito, cabstand, cabuya, cac-, ca-ca

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cabriolet in a sentence

(A more upscale version, the cabriolet, or “cab,” was later imported from France).
Great Cities are Born Filthy|Will Doig|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do you know, Monsieur, that just as we were coming into Moulins, we remarked your odd-looking cabriolet de poste.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
Not but that a cabriolet is a good vehicle of its sort: I know of few more comfortable.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
"We will go to the Hotel de l'Europe, if you press it;" and away the cabriolet joggled over the roughly paved street.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various

After a brief reflection, he called a hack-cabriolet, and bade the man drive towards Bethnal Green.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
The gentleman turned down one of the streets to the left, stopped, and called to the servant dozing behind his cabriolet.
Night and Morning, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for cabriolet

cabriolet

/ (ˌkæbrɪəʊˈleɪ) /

noun

a small two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with two seats and a folding hood

a former name for a drophead coupé

Word Origin for cabriolet

C18: from French, literally: a little skip, from cabriole, from Latin capreolus wild goat, from caper goat; referring to the lightness of movement

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012