Jinrikishas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rickshaw that is pulled by a person, typically used for transporting passengers in urban areas
2. A lightweight two-wheeled vehicle guided by a runner, commonly found in cities for short-distance travel
3. A form of human-powered transport consisting of a cart-like structure, often pulled by a person for conveying individuals or goods

Etymology: "Jinrikishas" is the plural of "jinrikisha", the two-wheeled passenger cart pulled by a runner that became a familiar sight in Japanese cities and beyond. The singular is the word that carries the history: it comes from Japanese "jin" (person), "riki" (power) and "sha" (vehicle), so the whole term literally means something like "human-powered vehicle." Because the word is a compound of plain Japanese elements, it reached English as a borrowed term for an object that Westerners encountered in Japan, rather than as a native English coinage. The plural simply follows the usual English pattern of adding "s" to the singular, so "jinrikishas" refers to more than one of these carts.

Synonyms: rickshaws