Dashcam

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small camera fixed to the windshield or dashboard of a vehicle that continuously records the view ahead while driving
2. A video recording device mounted inside a car that captures the road in front and is often used as evidence in accidents
3. An onboard camera placed behind the windscreen of an automobile to film the journey and any incidents that happen on the road

Etymology: A dashcam is, quite literally, a camera mounted on the dashboard, and the word was built by clipping and joining two everyday pieces: "dash", short for dashboard, and "cam", short for camera. Blends like this are a common way English creates new technical terms, because speakers can hear both parts at once and grasp the meaning without any special training. The dashboard itself gives the word its first half. "Dash" in this sense is a shortening of the dashboard, the panel facing the driver, and the ending "-board" was dropped so that the stem could join with "cam" smoothly. The result is a compact word that tells you exactly where the device sits. The "cam" half is a clipping of "camera", which has its own shorter forms. Put together, the word names a recording device fixed to the windscreen or dashboard, aimed at the road ahead, and it is used for recording a vehicle's journey, usually in a car's own view of the road.

Synonyms: dash cam, dashboard camera