the.com/semi
The truck that makes you question every life choice at a merge lane.
means A tractor-trailer — a truck cab semi-permanently hitched to a detachable trailer that carries the actual cargo.
from Short for 'semi-trailer,' built from Latin 'semi-' meaning 'half.' The trailer is only 'half' a vehicle because it has no front axle or engine of its own — it leans entirely on the tractor unit to haul it around. English clipped the compound down to just 'semi' in everyday speech, the way 'refrigerator' became 'fridge.'
- full name
- semi-trailer truck, cab plus detachable trailer
- missing half
- no front axle under the trailer, hence semi
- also means
- semifinal, or a semi-detached house in britain
- jackknife risk
- trailer can swing 90 degrees on icy brakes