Adjacent Words

Conestoga wagon definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a large wagon with broad wheels and an arched canvas top; used by the United States pioneers to cross the prairies in the 19th century [syn: covered wagon, Conestoga wagon, Conestoga, prairie wagon, prairie schooner]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Conestoga, Pa. Date: 1717 a broad-wheeled covered wagon drawn usually by six horses and used especially for transporting freight across the prairies — called also Conestoga

Britannica Concise

Horse-drawn covered freight wagon. It originated in the 18th cent. in the Conestoga Creek region of Pennsylvania. It had a flat body and low sides; with its floor curved up at each end to prevent freight from shifting, it was well suited for travel over early Amer. roads. It became famous as later adapted by westward-traveling pioneers for hauling their possessions; with its tall white canvas top, it resembled a sailing ship from a distance, which earned it the name "prairie schooner."

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conestoga wagon Con`es*to"ga wag`on or wain wain [From Conestoga, Pennsylvania.] A kind of large broad-wheeled wagon, usually covered, for traveling in soft soil and on prairies.