Cabriolets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A style of motor vehicle designed with a retractable roof, allowing for both closed and open driving experiences
2. An automotive configuration that enables the roof to be lowered or removed, providing exposure to the elements
3. A type of automobile that features a roof which can be folded down or taken off for open-air driving

Etymology: "Cabriolets" is the plural of "cabriolet," which in English originally named a light, two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a folding hood. The word comes from French "cabriolet," from "cabriole," a leap or caper, and that in turn derives from Italian "capriola," a leap like a goat's, linked to Latin "caper," meaning goat. The image is of a carriage that bounced and jumped over rough roads, as if its horse were capering. The name moved to the motor car as the carriage's folding hood was reproduced on early automobiles. A "cabriolet" in the modern sense is a convertible with a retractable roof, so the word has come full circle from a bouncing carriage to a car that lets the sky in.

Synonyms: convertibles, two-door cars