taxi: [20] Taxi is short for taximeter cab, a term coined around 1890 for a cab fitted with a taximeter, a device for showing the fare to be paid. Taximeter [19] was borrowed from French taximètre, a compound noun formed from taxe ‘charge, tariff’ (a relative of English tax) and mètre ‘meter’. => tax[taxi etymology, taxi origin, 英语词源]