The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tarantass \Tar`an*tass"\, n. [Russ. tarantas'.] A low four-wheeled carriage used in Russia. The carriage box rests on two long, springy poles which run from the fore to the hind axletree. When snow falls, the wheels are taken off, and the body is mounted on a sledge.
Wiktionary
n. A low horse-drawn carriage without springs used in Russia, capable of having its wheels replaced with runners during the winter.
Wikipedia
The tarantass is a four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle on a long longitudinal frame, reducing road jolting on long-distance travel. It was widely used in Russia in the first half of the 19th century. It generally carried four passengers. The origin of the word is not known: Fasmer's etymological dictionary lists a number of variants from regional dialects to the ancient Indo-European roots with the mark "doubtful".
In 1840, author Vladimir Sollogub published a satirical novelette "Tarantass". The main hero of the story drove a team of three horses. In Jules Verne's novel Michael Strogoff it is one of the means of displacement.
The tarantass has been described as two long poles serving as parallel axles supporting a large basket forming a cup or bowl. It is not suspended on springs, and generally has no benches. The vehicle is accessed by an external ladder. The interior is generally covered by straw, changed at intervals for cleanliness, upon which the passengers rest.
Usage examples of "tarantass".
A reasonably-constructed carriage, I say: I should never advise you to career over the steppes of Tartary in a tarantass with your bosom bare to the winds, or covered only with a cotton shift.
Sergeich silently gave him a tip, got into the tarantass, and drove off.
Russia, consisting of nannies, children, daughters, and fat landowners, came for the merrymaking in britzkas, gigs, tarantasses, and such carriages as no one ever saw even in dreams.
The silence would have been complete but for the grindings of the wheels of the tarantass over the road, the creaking of the axles, the snorting of the horses, and the clattering of their iron hoofs among the pebbles, sparks flying out on every side.