wheeler

See also: Wheeler

English

Etymology

From Middle English whelere, equivalent to wheel +‎ -er (agent noun suffix) or +‎ -er (measurement suffix) (sense 4).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːlə(ɹ)

Noun

wheeler (plural wheelers)

1. (obsolete) A wheelwright, a wheelmaker.
2. Someone who operates a wheel.
3. (archaic) A wheelhorse (horse near wheel of carriage).
4. (in combination) A vehicle having the specified number or type of wheels.
   • 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Greek Interpreter:

     "Excellent," said Sherlock Holmes. "Send the boy for a four-wheeler, and we shall be off at once."

5. (UK, historical, Liverpool) A sett in a stoneway.
   • 1894, Transactions of the Liverpool Engineering Society, page 109:

     These wheelers are now made from the same class of rock as the rest of the pavement, […]

Related terms

• eighteen-wheeler
• four-wheeler
• high-wheeler
• one-wheeler
• paddlewheeler
• sidewheeler
• single-wheeler
• six-wheeler
• sternwheeler
• ten-wheeler
• three-wheeler
• two-wheeler
• wheeler-dealer
• wheeler-dealing