John,
You are right to suspect that the use of the term 'fiacre' for a cab is
derived from a place-name. It is named after the Hotel St-Fiacre in Paris
which was a prominent landmark close to the rue St-Martin, the first place
to make coaches for hire. This was in the seventeenth century.
Martin Howley,
Humanities Librarian
Memorial University of Newfoundland
On Thu, 5 Sep 1996, John Carmi Parsons wrote:
> Regarding the feast of St Fiacre--the French word "fiacre" came to refer (by
> the 18th century anyway) to a type of carriage that was often run for hire
> in Paris. This might well explain the taxi driver connection. Given the
> Gallic proclivity for naming objects for a pseudo-place of origin (e.g., any
> dish of food conspicuously containing carrots is properly called "a la Crecy"
> because Crecy is as well-known for its carrots as for Edward III's victory),
> it's possible that this type of carriage originated, or was manufactured, at
> St-Fiacre-en-Brie.
> Nailing this down would naturally take some research though. Are
> there any details in Fiacre's vita or legend (with which I am utterly
> unfamiliar) that would possibly connect with a journey by cart or carriage?
> John Parsons
>
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