This glossary of carriage and driving terminology provides definitions of historical and contemporary terms used in the design, construction, operation, and cultural use of carriages and related horse-drawn vehicles. It includes vocabulary associated with vehicle types, carriage parts, driving techniques, occupations, harnesses, and equipment used in traditional and modern horse driving practices.

For French carriage terminology used in English-language texts, see the section French-to-English terminology below.

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French-to-English terminology

This section lists French driving harness, carriage and coachbuilding terms including rare, archaic, and specialist terms commonly seen in period catalogs, museum inventories, coachbuilder archives, and technical literature.

à 1 cheval: for one horse à 1 ou 2 chevaux: convertible for single or à 2 chevaux: for two horses (a ) abeille (lampe): small side lamp aile: wing, fender ais de fond: floorboards : driven by anneau d'attelle: hames ring, antenne: light or extension arçon: tree, sometimes an arched structural bow arrière train: rear running gear assommoir: headboard, front panel attelage: , attelle: avaloire: breeching avant train: front running gear, fore-carriage bâche: tarpaulin, cover banc: seat, bench banquette: bench seat barre d'attelage: crossbar for hitching berline: Berlin (a large enclosed carriage) berlinoise: light Berlin style carriage bête de somme: packhorse bois laqué: lacquered wood bois verni: varnished wood botte: , trunk compartment boucle de trait: trace buckle brancardier: support (when unhitched) brancards: branche à fourche de la croupière: hip straps, forked straps supporting the crupper break: see bricole: bride: bridle caisse relaquée: re-lacquered body caisse: body of carriage or coach capote en toile: canvas hood capote: folding top, hood carrosse: carrossier: chaise: a light two-wheeled carriage chaise de poste: post chaise, a long distance carriage charrette anglaise: English cart, gig charrette: cart, usually two wheeled châssis: frame, chassis cocarde: rosette cocher: coffre: trunk, storage box collier: coupé: a fore-shortened coach coupé dormeuse: sleeping coupé, has a convertible interior courroie de reculement: holdback strap croupière: crupper strap leading to the crupper piece cuir verni: patent leather cuir: leather culeron: crupper piece (under the tail) dais: canopy diligence: a French style of stagecoach dog cart: dogcart dormeuse: sleeper carriage with a reclining interior dossière: back strap running from to échelle: step ladder, mounting step élan: forward rebound or springing motion of the carriage caused by the suspension élançons: spring hangers équipage: carriage + horses + servants; the whole essieu: axle fausse martingale: fausses rênes: s ferrures: metal fittings flèche: for a pair of horses frontal: browband fronteau: front panel, garde crotte: mudguard garniture: upholstery, interior trim gourmette: curb chain guide: rein guides: reins impériale: roof seat (on large coaches) jante: wheel rim landau: a convertible folding-top carriage landaulet: small landau with rear folding top lanternes: lamps limonière: a single central for single horse hitching, not the same connection points as a malle poste: mail coach marchepied: step, footboard montants: , upright vertical supports of a coach body mors: bit muserolle: noseband nacelle: a basket style body œillères: blinders omnibus: panneau: s panurge: drop or holder phaéton: phaeton an owner-driven open carriage porte bagages: luggage rack porte cochère: same as the English usage porte lanterne: lamp bracket porte voix: speaking tube from coach interior to driver porte-brancard: shaft tugs ressorts à lames: leaf springs ressorts à pincettes: pincette springs ressorts elliptiques: elliptical springs ressorts: springs roue: wheel sellerie: upholstery, saddlery sellette: harness siège du cocher: driver's seat, sous-barbe: chin strap sous-gorge: throatlatch sous-ventrière: belly band, girth suspension à soupente: strap suspension, leather tapissier, tapissière: an upholsterer tapissière: a light covered utility wagon (formerly used by tapissières) têtière: crownpiece of bridle timon: front section of a , often reinforced with metal and including a toile: canvas train arrière: rear running gear train avant: front running gear trait: trace travail: work harness, working gear vis à vis: face to face seating carriage, see Vis-à-vis (carriage) voiture de maître: gentleman's carriage, private carriage voiturette: small light carriage volée: a pivoting bar for , see swingletree and whippletree

Further glossaries

Additional glossaries of carriage and driving terminology appear in the following published works. (18th century terms)

In addition, several works formatted alphabetically in dictionary or encyclopedia style include Berkebile (1978), Smith (1988), and Walrond (1979).

See also Bibliography of carriages and driving

References (Original Vol I, Original Vol II)