# carrus/currus

**URL:** <https://www.textkit.com/t/carrus-currus/3696>\
**Category:** Learning Latin\
**Created:** [May 5, 2005, 9:46am UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/carrus-currus/3696 "2005-05-05T09:46:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fr\_Patricius](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/858c86/32.png) [@Fr\_Patricius](https://www.textkit.com/u/Fr_Patricius)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:46am UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/carrus-currus/3696/1 "2005-05-05T09:46:25Z")

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Beginner’s question.

A text I’ve been perusing offers _carrus_, defining it as a cart or waggon. But then later, in the examples, it uses _currus_ instead. My Latin reference lists both words, defining _carrus_ as a four-wheeled baggage waggon, and _currus_ as a chariot or car, especially for racing or war.

What’s the real story on these two nouns?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![benissimus](https://www.textkit.com/user_avatar/www.textkit.com/benissimus/32/7_2.png) [@benissimus](https://www.textkit.com/u/benissimus)\
**Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 9:57am UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/carrus-currus/3696/2 "2005-05-05T09:57:26Z")

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_currus_ is a horse-driven vehicle meant to carry a person, generally a chariot. It is a native Latin word, from the same root as _currere_.

_carrus_ or _carrum_ refers quite specifically to a style of wagon uses by the Gauls. While it is from the same PIE roots as _currus_, it is probably only used so frequently as it is in modern texts because English and Romance languages derive their words for cars from it. It probably owes its overthrowing of the native Latin word to the fact that it looks and sounds so much like it, as well as being easier to pronounce.