Skip to main content

etymology - Why is a vehicle's empty weight called its "curb weight"?


Merriam Webster defines curb weight as:



the weight of an automobile with standard equipment and fuel, oil, and coolant



Why is this weight called a vehicle's curb weight?



Answer



Definition and etymology


Curb weight (US) or kerb weight (UK) is the weight of a car parked at the kerb with standard equipment, oil, water, coolant, petrol but without passengers or goods. Some definitions say a full tank of petrol, but some just say some petrol. It comes from the idea of a car parked by the kerb and ready to go, but waiting for passengers and extra luggage.


The earliest example in the OED is of the UK spelling in 1958, but Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2004) dates the US spelling to 1949 but I found examples in the early 1930s (and possibly in the late 1920s).


1920s


This is a snippet of Society of Automotive Engineers Transactions (1929), so the date could be wrong (but it looks ok). It contrasts "Curb weight, sedan" with a heavier "Weight, with driver and observer":


Curb weight, sedan 3300 lb.


1930s


Ignoring snippets, the first verifiable examples are from almost identical adverts in the April 1933 editions of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics:


The Pontiac Economy Straight Eight has a wheelbase of 1 1 5 inches; the curb weight (4-door Sedan) is 3265 pounds.Pontiac's 115' wheelbase and 4-door Sedan curb weight of 3265 pounds assure real big car riding comfort.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more