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Glite Dictionary
🚗 A sporty car 🐎 A small carriage
roadster

roadster

8.3
A small, light carriage pulled by one horse for one person
  • noun
  • /ˈroʊd.stɚ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : carruaje ligero
  • During the parade, a charming vintage roadster caught everyone's eye with its sleek design.

Examples

  • He wanted the white people gone, wanted to turn time around as if it were the steering wheel of his roadster.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • At the park, she admired the beautifully crafted roadster that looked perfect for a summer outing.

  • It's deserted except for an old-timey buff-and-tan roadster reminiscent of the wingtips worn by the snooty manager at the five-and-dime.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The horse trotted elegantly, pulling the shiny roadster along the cobblestone street.

Synonyms

carriage
vsroadster
100 4.7

A wheeled vehicle pulled by horses to carry people

is much smaller and strictly for a single rider pulled by one horse
buggy
vsroadster
  • Archaic
24 6.7

A small light carriage pulled by one horse for one or two people

is limited to a solo rider pulled by a single horse
shay
vsroadster
  • Archaic
2 9.9

A light two-wheeled carriage with a folding roof for one horse to pull

is open and simple single-seat design without a folding top
gig
vsroadster
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A light two-wheeled carriage pulled by one horse

is built for a single rider and single-horse pull
horse-drawn vehicle
vsroadster
1 3.8

A vehicle with wheels pulled by horses that carries people or goods

is the small single-seat kind rather than broad horse-pulled types
sulky
vsroadster
  • Specialized
9.9

A light two-wheeled vehicle pulled by one horse for harness races

is for general single-person transport rather than racing use

How Light

roadster
  • Archaic
8.3
cart
297 1.0
carriage
100 4.7
wagon
88 1.0

Surface Forms

roadster singular
roadsters plural

Morphology

roadster = road (semi-transparent) = road + ster

The components 'road' + '-ster' signal something associated with the road (a vehicle or conveyance), but the exact specific type (a one-person carriage) is a historical/specialized sense that learners may not predict.

Etymology

Roadster comes from the simple parts road and the ending -ster, so it originally meant 'for the road'. At first, a roadster was a light, one-person carriage pulled by a single horse, made for quick travel on roads, which explains the name.