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tramway

tramway

1 5.6
A system that carries people or goods in cars hanging from cables
  • noun
  • /ˈtræmˌweɪ/
translation icon : teleférico
  • To enjoy the scenic landscape, take the Palm Springs tramway that glides above the canyons.
  • aerial tramway

I'm looking at you small trolley with pantograph, electrical connection, mountain cable car and aerial tramway.

Examples

  • In the winter, the aerial tramway carries skiers up the mountain for a day of skiing and snowboarding.

  • Thom decided that the mountain highways would be clogged with skiers, and therefore they would drive to a place in the desert where an aerial tramway ran to a summit upon which she would find a surfeit of her beloved snow.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • You are now standing in the lower terminal... ... of one of the world's most spectacular aerial tramways.

  • They linked these with copper wires fetched from the cabling of the new electrical tramways.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The Sandia Peak tramway provides breathtaking views as it transports visitors to the top of the mountain.

Synonyms

aerial tramway
vstramway
6.3

A way of carrying people in cabins that hang from cables above the ground

is the broader system defined by carriers suspended from cables
cable tramway
vstramway
7.1

A system that carries people or goods in cabins hanging from moving cables

is the general suspended system not focusing on cable movement
ropeway
vstramway
  • UK
7.9

A system that carries people or goods in cars hanging from cables over rough land

is the general suspended system without stressing specialised terrain use

Compounds

A system that carries people or goods in cabins hanging from moving cables

A way of carrying people in cabins that hang from cables above the ground

Surface Forms

tramway singular
tramways plural

Morphology

tramway = tram + way (semi-transparent) = tram + way

The compound structure is clear, but this sense refers to a specialized aerial cable system which may not be obvious to all learners from 'tram'+'way' alone.

Etymology

Tramway can also mean a system of carriers that hang from cables. It still comes from tram ('vehicle') and way ('path'), so it is a 'path' for trams even when they travel above the ground on cables.