Funiculars

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of cable railway system that transports passengers or goods up and down steep slopes using cars connected by a cable
2. A system of transportation involving rail cars that are pulled or pushed along tracks on inclines, often found in hilly areas
3. A method of conveying people or materials using vehicles operated on tracks that ascend or descend steep gradients through mechanized cables

Etymology: "Funiculars" is the plural of "funicular," a cable-hauled railway whose cars climb and descend steep slopes. The noun takes its name from the mechanism rather than the vehicle or the hill. It comes from Latin "funiculus," meaning "little rope," a diminutive of "funis," meaning "cord" or "rope." The word reached English through French "funiculaire," which carries the same idea of a rope or cable doing the work. So the vehicle is named after the rope that pulls it, and the same root gives the everyday English word "funicular" its sense of cable-driven.

Synonyms: cable cars, inclined railways