taksofon?

[Robert Whittaker]

Subject:

Since the discussion has already moved from telephoning:
I recall my 'professor' at MGU in the mid-sixties using the slang "takso"
(stress on 'o') for a taxicab, in a context that made it sound of pre-war
(pre 40s) origin.
        Robert W.
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At 03:22 PM 4/24/97 -0400, you wrote:

>The prefix "tax-" means 'tax' or 'charge', and refers to the fact that one
>pays to use a pay phone. What contemporary Americans call a "taxi" is what
>was earlier called a "taxicab" (a term still in use), where "cab" is
>shortened from "cabriolet," a particular type of carriage or automobile.
>What we call a "meter" in a taxicab used to be called a "taximeter,"
>since what it metered, or measured, was the cost, or tax, for the ride.
>Typologically, the shortening of "taxicab" to "taxi" may be compared to
>the shortening of "automobile" to "auto".
>
>Cheers,
>
>David
>Professor David J. Birnbaum     email: djbpitt+ at pitt.edu
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