Cab stems from cabriolet, a light horse-drawn vehicle, with one horse and two wheels. The word taxi comes from taximeter, the meter that calculates the taxi fare. However, both refer to a motor vehicle that transports passengers to their destination for a fare. Hence, there is no significant difference between cab and taxi. Nevertheless, cab is an older term than taxi.
Although some people assume that there is a difference between cab and taxi in British and American English usage, this is not so. Both these words are used equally in both varieties of English. Thus, these two words are synonymous.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Cab
3. What is a Taxi
4. Similarities Between Cab and Taxi
5. Difference Between Cab and Taxi
6. Summary
What is a Cab?
Cab is the same as taxi. This term, however, is older than taxi. Cab stems from cabriolet, a light horse-drawn vehicle, with one horse and two wheels. This was one of the oldest earliest forms of horse-drawn vehicles that were available for hire. Even after the introduction of motorized vehicles, people kept using this name to refer to vehicles that were available for hire. This is how the word came into usage.
Figure 01: Cab
Therefore, most English-speaking people know and use both words cab and taxi.
What is a Taxi?
The word taxi comes from taximeter, the meter that calculates the taxi fare. In general usage, a taxi is a motor vehicle that transports passengers from one place to another for a fare based on the distance travelled. Basically, there is no difference between cab and taxi; both are vehicles for hire.
Figure 02: Taxi
A single passenger or a group of passengers can use a taxi. Although most of us associated cars with taxis, vans or other bigger vehicles can also be used as taxis. You can mainly see taxis in big cities. There are different types of taxis, the main distinction being private and public taxis. There are four major types of taxis as hackneys (licensed for hailing throughout streets), private hire vehicles (minicabs, etc. licensed only for pre-booking), taxi buses, and limousines.
What are the Similarities Between Cab and Taxi?
- Cab and taxi are two words that refer to a type of vehicle for hire with a driver.
- These two words are synonymous.
What is the Difference Between Cab and Taxi?
- There is no significant difference between cab and taxi.
Summary – Cab vs Taxi
Cab and taxi are two words we use to refer to a type of vehicle for hire with a driver. Although some people assume that these two words have different meanings, this is not so. In fact, there is no difference between cab and taxi. Both these words are used interchangeably throughout English-speaking countries.
Image Courtesy:
1.”438824″ (CC0) via Max Pixel
2.”TAXI”By Petar Milošević – Own work, (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia