Definition of vehicle – What it is, Meaning and Concept

A vehicle is a machine which enables travel from one place to another. Vehicles can not only transport persons, but also animals, plants and any type of object.

Etymologically speaking, we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically from “vehiculum”, which can be translated as “means of transport”. However, this word in turn is the result of the sum of two clearly differentiated parts: the verb “vehere”, which is synonymous with “transport”, and the suffix “-culum”, which is used to indicate an instrument.

For example: “We need a vehicle to take the boxes to Pablo’s house”, “The criminals moved in a dark-colored vehicle, which they parked two blocks from the place”, “The projectile hit a vehicle that was passing near the stadium”.

The automobiles, the trucks, the vans, the quadricycles and the motorcycles are motor vehicles: they move around the action from an engine that runs on some type of fuel, such as gasoline or diesel. Other vehicles, such as bikes, require the physical effort of the user to move.

There are also vehicles for mass passenger transport: trains, underground, planes, cruise ships, etc. As you can see by looking at these examples, vehicles travel on the Earth, water or air according to each case. There are even vehicles that move beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, such as spaceships.

There are many other vehicle classifications that deserve to be taken into account, among which the following stand out:
-When we talk about those that circulate through the air, there are three fundamental modalities: those with an engine, such as the plane; those that go to reaction, like the rocket; or they are made of propellers, as would be the case with the helicopter.
-In the case of marine vehicles, there are two large groups: the submerged, which go under water as would be the case of the submarine; and those that move on the water. In this last group there is a great variety of options, such as the catamaran, the yacht, the ship, the jet ski, the canoe, the ocean liner, the fishing boat …
-The land vehicles, those that circulate on “solid ground”, are classified into three large groups: those that go on firm ground, as would be the case of the car or the moped; those that go on rails, such as the train, the subway or the tram; and those that circulate on land that is not conditioned. In this last group are mountain bikes or what would come to be off-road vehicles and tanks.

It is important to emphasize that, in a broader sense, everything that allows to transmit or carry something, including symbolic or abstract things. The TV, the radio and the diaries are vehicles of information: they enable the information get to different places.

In addition, it can be said that a rodent is a disease vehicle since it has the ability to transmit certain evils to the human being (such as leptospirosis or hantavirus).