named after its inventor, Lady Betty Curricle, light two-wheeler, 18th century, parent of the Victorian dog-cart, the earliest of which were drawn by dogs (later so-named because there was room to carry sporting dogs under the driver's seat. Also referred to as a duodecimo phaeton and 2-horse shay [example seen Ford Museum, Dearborn, 9/94

light carriage; short course

A curricle was a smart light two wheeled "chariot" large enough for the driver and a passenger and— most unusual for a vehicle with a single axle—drawn by a carefully-matched pair. It was popular in the early 19th century: its Latinate name is the equivalent of a "runabout" and it was a rig suitable for a smart young man who liked to drive himself, at a canter. The French liked the English-sounding term "carrick" for these vehicles.