Wiktionary
n. (context historical English) An early automobile, of the types designed before World War I.
WordNet
n. an early term for an automobile; "when automobiles first replaced horse-drawn carriages they were called horseless carriages"
Wikipedia
Horseless carriage is a term for early automobiles; at the time it was common that carriages were pulled by animals, typically horses, but the automobiles were not. In 2010 the term was compared to other transitional terms like Cordless phone and wireless phone. They are cases in which a new technology is described by what it does not have, compared to an older technology. Horseless carriages are noted for their similarity to horse-drawn carriages, but instead with some type of motor; some features of carriages include a high center of gravity and tiller-steering. In 1803 what has been said to be the first horseless carriage was demonstrated in London, Britain, as made by Richard Trevithick. This was a steam-powered conversion of a carriage, hence the moniker. In the 1820s Goldsworthy Gurney built steam powered road vehicles. One survived to be on display at Glasgow Museum of Transport. In the United States, a four wheel steam carriage was made by Sylvester H. Roper in 1863. The 1800s were a period where steam engines were a popularized as source of power for locomotives, ships, and things like mills.
The 1896 Armstrong horseless carriage was noted as an early hybrid vehicle, in the case electric with combined electric motor with battery and gasoline fueled internal-combustion engine.
In 1893, Frank Duryea is reported to have made the first horseless carriage trip on U.S. roads in Springfield, Massachusetts, traveling 600 yards before. He went on to found the first U.S. car company with his brother, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company.
Horseless carriages from the turn of 19th to 20th century participated in a re-creation of the first London, UK auto-show in April 2016.
A motorized stage coach was built in Arizona USA for actor Burt Reynolds.
Usage examples of "horseless carriage".
No, I can't say I think he's a swindler, and I doubt if he needs anybody else's money to back his horseless carriage.
I was beginning to suspect that Mrs Anson was the only person in this hotel, so tight was her hold on me Anyway, I'm sure Sir William will consider purchasing your goggles, even though he does not drive his horseless carriage these days.
It's enough to swallow that I talk through wires and drive a horseless carriage.
Kelvin wasn't quite sure he trusted this wheelless, horseless carriage.
That sweet city with her dreaming spires, I said, and was nearly hit by a horseless carriage.
The stuttering roar of an occasional horseless carriage mingled with the clop of hooves, and the jarring of iron-rimmed wagon wheels on the uneven street.
I assure you I have to move around a bit now and then without using this horseless carriage.
In 1912: Brian bought an automobile, a car - somewhere during that decade `automobile carriage' changed to- `automobile', and then to `auto', and then to `motor car, or `car' - the ultimate name for the horseless carriage, as it could not get any shorter.