Cartage

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of moving goods from one place to another using a cart or similar vehicle
2. The service or cost of carrying items over a short distance by means such as carts or trucks
3. The transportation of freight or materials by road vehicle, typically over limited distances

Etymology: The word is a straightforward formation: "cart" plus the suffix "-age," which turns a noun into one meaning a collective, a charge, or an activity connected with that noun. The base "cart" is an old word that English inherited from Old Norse "kartr," itself from a Proto-Germanic root, so the vehicle was a familiar part of English life long before the suffix was attached to it. The suffix has a longer and more roundabout journey. It descends from Latin "-āticum," a Late Latin ending that passed through Old French "-age" and arrived in Middle English as "-age." That same ending gives English many everyday nouns, such as "postage," "baggage," and "shrinkage," all following the same pattern of attaching a cost or service to a base word. Once "-age" was attached to "cart," the result named the price or work of carting goods, the use of carts for hire. The word therefore points to a service as much as to a vehicle, which explains why it refers to what you pay a carrier as well as the carrying itself.

Synonyms: transport, conveyance, shipping

Antonyms: delivery