CAB

(from Fr. cabriolet), a two or four-wheeled vehicle used in France as early as the XVII. cent.; first introduced into England about 1820. Originally this kind of carriage was a high, two wheeled gig, with movable hood, accommodating two persons. A _ later development of the vehicle was the Hansom, patented by an architect named Hansom, in 1834. Four-wheeled cabs, or growlers, first came into use in England about 1836; motor-cabs in 1897,