• JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    Wait, woah, so the term ‘train’ is from the French word for ‘action’ or ‘motion’, essentially? That’s kind of a dub.

    • morgunkorn@discuss.tchncs.de
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      22
      ·
      edit-2
      3 hours ago

      originally, as a noun, “le train” comes from the latin word trahere “to pull”. It’s then use to describe a convoy of animals. Later its meaning evolved into the “the going motion” (of a horse, a human).

      It’s currently in that sense in “arrière-train” to designate the back legs of a quadruped. “Aller de bon train” = to walk briskly, or in automotive, the “train avant” and “train arrière” are the front and rear axles.

      There are other expressions like “le train-train quotidien”, meaning the daily grind.

      edit: additional information to the etymology