Bodywork

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The external metal or plastic panels and structural frame of a car that form its outward appearance
2. The outer shell that covers a vehicle's frame, including doors, roof, and panels, shaping its look and protecting internal components
3. The visible framework and panels of an automobile that define its shape and house its mechanical parts

Etymology: Bodywork is about as plain a compound as English offers: "body" joined to "work", with no borrowed root or hidden story behind it. In its older sense, "work" meant the workmanship and construction of a thing, so the phrase named the labour of building a vehicle's outer structure. Coachbuilders in the early motor era shaped wood and metal over frames to make the carriage that enclosed the engine and passengers, and the term came to cover that enclosing shell as a whole. The word now refers to the visible framework and panels of a car, the parts that give it its shape and house the machinery beneath. The same compound also gave rise to the verb-like sense of repairing dented or damaged panels, which is why a collision shop is often called a bodywork shop.

Synonyms: car body, automobile structure, frame, chassis, shell