In 1801, Richard Trevithick constructed and demonstrated his Puffing Devil highway locomotive, believed by many to be the primary demonstration of a steam-powered street automobile. It was unable to maintain adequate steam strain for long durations and was of little practical use. “Automobile,” a classical compound derived from Ancient Greek autós (αὐτός) “self” and Latin mobilis “movable,” entered English from French and was first adopted by the Automobile Club of Great Britain in 1897. It fell out of favour in Britain and is now used mainly Car & Automotive in North America, the place the abbreviated kind “auto” commonly seems as an adjective in compound formations like “auto trade” and…