1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Buggy

BUGGY, a vehicle with either two (in England and India) or four wheels (in America). English buggies are generally hooded and for one horse. American buggies are for one horse or two, and either covered with a hood or open; among the varieties are the “Goddard” (the name of the inventor), the “box,” so called from the shape of the body, the “cut under,” i.e. cut out for the front wheels to cramp beneath and so turn in a narrow space, the “end-spring” and “side-bar,” names referring to the style of hanging. A skeleton buggy, lightly constructed, is used on the American “speedways,” built and maintained for fast driving. The word is of unknown origin; it may be connected with “bogie” (q.v.) a truck. The supposed Hindustani baggī, a gig, often given as the source, appears to be an invention or an adaptation into the vernacular of the English word.