wagon-lit

American  

[va-gawn-lee] / va gɔ̃ˈli /

noun

plural

wagons-lits

1. (in continental European usage) a railroad sleeping car.

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wagon-lit British  

/ vaɡɔ̃li /

noun

1. a sleeping car on a European railway

2. a compartment on such a car

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Etymology

Origin of wagon-lit

First recorded in 1880–85; from French, equivalent to wagon “railway coach” (from English ) + lit “bed” (from Latin lectus )

Example Sentences

"The British have a wagon-lit to ourselves with all possible conveniences: there are several other wagon-lits and a dining saloon," he wrote.

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2018

In my first-class wagon-lit compartment, the washbasin was dirty.

From Time Magazine Archive

Casual, unobtrusive, the Marquis Panlucci Decaboli, private secretary to Premier Mussolini, boarded a wagon-lit at Rome two months ago, and was whisked toward Spain �ostensibly to visit his father-in-law, the Italian Ambassador at Madrid.

From Time Magazine Archive

I dragged myself back from Christmas at Manderley to the realities of the wagon-lit.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Soon she would be gone, rattling alone in the wagon-lit without me, and he and I would be together in the dining-room of the hotel, lunching at the same table, planning the future.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier