English

flatcar

From flat + car.

A compound of flat + car

Proto-Germanic *flataz ‘flat’

Old Norse flatr ‘flat, level’

Middle English flat ‘level’

English flat

Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós ‘vehicle’

…

Gaulish *karros ‘wagon’

Latin carrus ‘two-wheeled baggage wagon’

Anglo-Norman carre

Middle English carre ‘cart’

English car

Today it means

noun A railroad freight car without sides and roof.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.