wheeler

See also: Wheeler

English

Etymology

From Middle English whelere, equivalent to wheel +‎ -er (agent noun suffix) or +‎ -er (measurement suffix) (sense 4).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːlə(ɹ)

Noun

wheeler (plural wheelers)

  1. (obsolete) A wheelwright, a wheelmaker.
  2. Someone who operates a wheel.
  3. (archaic) A wheelhorse (horse near wheel of carriage).
    • 1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities:
      How proud felt Pierre: In fancy’s eye, he saw the horse-ghosts a-tandem in the van; “These are but wheelers”—cried young Pierre—“the leaders are the generations.”
  4. (in combination) A vehicle having the specified number or type of wheels.
    • 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Greek Interpreter:
      "Excellent," said Sherlock Holmes. "Send the boy for a four-wheeler, and we shall be off at once."
  5. (UK, historical, Liverpool) A sett in a stoneway.
    • 1894, Transactions of the Liverpool Engineering Society, page 109:
      These wheelers are now made from the same class of rock as the rest of the pavement, […]
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