ambulance

UK: ˈæmbjələns | US: ˈæmbjələns

Definition

  1. n. a vehicle equipped to transport sick or injured people, typically to a hospital.

Structure
ambul <walk/move>ance <noun suffix>ambul <walk/move>ance <noun suffix>
Etymology

The word ambulance originates from the French hôpital ambulant ("mobile hospital"), used during wartime to describe horse-drawn wagons transporting wounded soldiers. The Latin root ambulare ("to walk") underscores the concept of movement, evolving into the modern sense of emergency medical transport.

Examples

  1. The ambulance arrived within minutes after the accident.

  2. She called an ambulance when her father complained of chest pain.

  3. The ambulance siren could be heard from several blocks away.

  4. Volunteers trained to assist ambulance crews during disasters.

  5. The hospital deployed additional ambulances during the festival.