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On Thu, 5 Sep 1996, Martin Howley wrote: > 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 > > >Bene notatum. This of course now poses the question how the Hotel St-Fiacre in Paris got ITS name! Was it built on the site of a lost religious house dedicated to Fiacre? Was this in a part of Paris somehow particularly associated with him? Did St Fiacre once sleep here? Endless possibilities. . . . JCP %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%