Wāg'on1, n.
n. [A-S. wǣgen, wǣgn, wæn, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, O. H. Ger. wagan, N. H. Ger. & D. wagen, Skr. vāha, vāhana, Lat. vehes, vehiculum, from Skr. vah, Lat. vehere, to bear, carry, convey. Cf. WAN.] 1. A wheeled carriage; a vehicle on four wheels, and usually drawn by horses; especially, one used for carrying freight. ☞ In the U. S., light wagons are used for the conveyance of persons, and for carrying light commodities, especially a very light kind drawn by one horse.
- A freight car on a railway. [Eng.]
- A chariot. [Obs.] Spenser.
☞ This word is often written waggon, chiefly in England. In the United States, the form wagon is the one almost universally employed. The latter form was also used by the earlier English writers, and is to be preferred on etymological grounds.