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The first chauffeurs were people employed to stoke a steam engine and keep it running. The literal meaning of the French noun chauffeur (from the verb chauffer, meaning "to heat") is "one that heats." In the early days of automobiles, French speakers extended the word to those who drove the "horseless carriage," and it eventually developed an extended sense specifically for someone hired to drive other people. It was this latter sense that was borrowed into English in the late 19th century. Incidentally, the French word chauffeur derives from the same Anglo-French word that gave English speakers the verb chafe, and ultimately can be traced back to the Latin verb calēre ("to be warm").
Examples of chauffeur in a Sentence
Everett Potter, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Inspired by the vintage Phantom III driven by Oddjob, Auric Goldfinger’s diminutive chauffeur, and accessorized with vast quantities of real gold, this could now be the ultimate Bond car.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2024
Shawn Tully, Fortune Asia, 10 Oct. 2024
And chauffeured all the while in an Aston Martin DBX Bowmore Edition, a $287,000 luxury SUV—one of only 16 ever produced.
—Brad Japhe, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chauffeur 
Dictionary Entries Near chauffeur
Cite this Entry
“Chauffeur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chauffeur. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chauffeur
2 of 2 verb
Noun
from French chauffeur "driver," literally, "stoker," from chauffer "to heat"
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