Limo

How to spell limo

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce limo

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does limo mean?

1. nounAn informal term for a limousine, a long, chauffeur-driven luxury car.

Limo in a sentence

• The wedding party arrived in a white stretch limo.

• The hotel sent a limo to collect us from the airport.

Where does limo come from?

Language of origin: French

Limo is a casual shortening of limousine, a word that English borrowed from French in the early twentieth century. The French limousine originally referred to a style of cloak or hood worn by shepherds in Limousin, a rural region of central France. When early motor cars appeared with an enclosed passenger compartment and a separate, often roofless, space for the driver, the covered cabin was thought to resemble that protective hood, so the cars took the regional name. The clipped form limo grew up in informal speech, especially in American English, as the long luxury vehicle became a fixture of weddings, proms, and airport pickups. Because limo simply drops the rest of limousine, its spelling holds no real trap; the only thing to remember is the single m, mirroring the start of the parent word.

How the word is built

• limo (clipped form of limousine, itself from Limousin, a French region)