pantechnicon

Definitions

pan- (all) + techn (art, craft) + -icon (place) = 'a place of all the arts.' The word began as the name of a grand bazaar in 19th-century London meant to sell artworks and curiosities. The venture flopped, and the building became a furniture warehouse. The vans that hauled goods to and from it were called pantechnicon vans — and eventually the van itself kept the name, even after the building was long forgotten.

Why It Means This

A perfect example of a word whose meaning wandered far from its roots. Pantechnicon literally promises 'all the arts' (pan + technē), and it was indeed coined for a fancy London emporium of art and curios around 1830. The shop failed; the premises turned into a furniture depository; the removal vans that served it were named after it; and when the building vanished, the humble moving van inherited the grand Greek name. So a word built to mean 'temple of every craft' now means, in British English, the lorry that hauls your sofa.

Example Sentences

• 1.

  A pantechnicon pulled up outside as the family moved house.

• 2.

  It took two pantechnicons to shift all their belongings.