taxi: [20] Taxi is short for taximeter cab, a term coined around 1890 for a cab fitted with a taximeter, a device for showing the fare to be paid. Taximeter [19] was borrowed from French taximètre, a compound noun formed from taxe ‘charge, tariff’ (a relative of English tax) and mètre ‘meter’. => tax
taxi (n.)
1907, shortening of taximeter cab (introduced in London in March 1907), from taximeter "automatic meter to record the distance and fare" (1898), from French taximètre, from German Taxameter (1890), coined from Medieval Latin taxa "tax, charge."
An earlier English form was taxameter (1894), used in horse-drawn cabs. Taxi dancer "woman whose services may be hired at a dance hall" is recorded from 1930. Taxi squad in U.S. football is 1966, said to be from a former Cleveland Browns owner who gave his reserves jobs with his taxicab company to keep them paid and available ["Dictionary of American Slang"], but other explanations ("short-term hire" or "shuttling back and forth" from the main team) seem possible.
taxi (v.)
1911, of airplanes, from slang use of taxi (n.) for "aircraft," or from or reinforced "in allusion to the way a taxi driver slowly cruises when looking for fares" [Barnhart]. Related: Taxied; taxiing.
中文解释
1. shortening of taximeter cab.2. taximeter "automatic meter to record the distance and fare".3. Medieval Latin taxa "tax, charge."4. 音译“的士”，这是按粤语音译的，所以从普通话的角度看差异很大。我们经常说的“打的”，就是源自粤语。出租车在香港和广东较早出现，于是粤语中也就相应地有了“搭的士”的说法，后来就简化变成了“打的”。
实用例句
1. Abidjan was thrown into turmoil because of a protest by taxi drivers.
出租车司机的抗议使得阿比让陷入了混乱。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Rude taxi drivers clocked up a total of 239 offences in 1990.
1990年，出租车司机鲁莽驾驶导致的违章事件总共达239起。
来自柯林斯例句
3. He was frustrated by his inability to wave down a taxi.
连一辆出租车都打不到，他很沮丧。
来自柯林斯例句
4. I strolled up and down thoughtfully before calling a taxi.