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{{Short description|Wheeled vehicle for animal drawn transport}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{About|||Cart (disambiguation)|and|Carting (disambiguation)|and|CART (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2020}}

[[File:Horse & cart, Town, Beamish Museum, 21 November 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Horse and cart at [[Beamish Museum]] (England, 2013)]]
[[File:Dockworkers in Cap-Haitien.jpg|thumb|Dockworkers and hand cart (Haiti, 2006)]]
A '''cart''' or '''dray''' (Australia and New Zealand<ref>{{cite web|title=Dray|website=Lexico Dictionaries: English|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/dray|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930083919/https://www.lexico.com/definition/dray|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 30, 2020|access-date=October 19, 2020}}</ref>) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by [[draught animal]]s such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs.

A '''handcart''' is pulled or pushed by one or more people.

Over time, the word "cart" has expanded to mean nearly any small conveyance, including [[shopping cart]]s, [[golf cart]]s, [[go-kart]]s, and [[Side by Side (UTV)|UTVs]], without regard to number of wheels, load carried, or means of propulsion.

==History==

The history of the cart is closely tied to the [[Wheel#History|history of the wheel]]. Carts have been mentioned in literature as far back as the second millennium B.C. The first people to use the cart may have been [[Mesopotamians]]. Handcarts pushed by humans have been used around the world.

Carts were often used for judicial punishments, both to transport the condemned – a public humiliation in itself (in [[Ancient Rome]] defeated leaders were often carried in the victorious general's [[Roman triumph|triumph]]) – and even, in England until its substitution by the [[pillory|whipping post]] under [[Elizabeth I of England|Queen Elizabeth I]], to tie the condemned to the ''cart-tail'' (the back part of a cart) and administer him or her a public whipping. [[wikt:tumbril|Tumbrils]] were commonly associated with the French Revolution as a mobile stage elevating the condemned on the way to the guillotine: this was simply a continuation of earlier practice when they were used as the removable support in the gallows, before [[Albert Pierrepoint]] calculated the precise drop needed for instant severance of the [[spinal column]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Ancient carts">
File:Greek chariot.jpg|[[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] chariot, 6th century BC
File:Egyptian Chariot (colour).jpg|[[Ramesses II]] on an Egyptian chariot
File:Eastern Han Bronze Cavalry and Chariots2.JPG|[[Han dynasty]] bronze figures, 1st or 2nd century AD
</gallery>

== Human-powered carts ==

Of the cart types not animal-drawn, perhaps the most common example today is the shopping cart ([[British English]]: shopping trolley), which has also come to have a [[metaphor]]ical meaning in relation to online purchases (here, British English uses the metaphor of the shopping basket). Shopping carts first made their appearance in [[Oklahoma City]] in 1937.

In golf, both manual push or pull and electric [[golf trolley]]s are designed to carry a golfer's bag, clubs and other equipment. Also, the golf cart, car, or buggy, is a powered vehicle that carries golfers and their equipment around a golf course faster and with less effort than walking.

A [[Porter (carrier)|Porter's trolley]] is a type of small, hand-propelled wheeled platform. This can also be called a [[baggage cart]].<!--since the 13th century.-->{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}

Autocarts are a type of small, hand-propelled wheeled utility carts having a pivoting base for collapsible storage in vehicles. They eliminate the need for plastic or paper shopping bags and are also used by [[tradesperson]]s to carry tools, equipment or supplies.

A [[soap-box cart]] (also known as a billy cart, go-cart, trolley etc.) is a popular children's construction project on wheels, usually pedaled, but also intended for a test race. Similar, but more sophisticated are modern-day pedal cart toys used in general recreation and racing.

The term "go-kart" (also shortened as "kart", an alternative spelling of "cart"), has existed since 1959, and refers to a tiny [[race car]] with a frame and [[two-stroke engine]]. The old term ''go-cart'' originally meant a [[sedan chair]] or an [[infant walker]].

Other carts:
* [[Pulled rickshaw|Rickshaw]]: Transport for humans.
* Pushcart: a cart that is pushed by one or more persons.
* AV cart: a cart traditionally used for transporting audiovisual equipment such as televisions. In more recent years, they have been used as [[standing desk]]s, especially in [[school administration]].<ref>{{Cite web| title = The Cart That Brought the Boob Tube to the Classroom|  url = https://tedium.co/2023/01/28/school-audiovisual-cart-history/ |first=Ernie |last=Smith |date=January 28, 2023 |website=tedium.co}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| title = Brilliant or bad idea? Principal trades his office for a rolling cart, sparking debate| work = TODAY.com| date = 2023-09-11| url = https://www.today.com/parents/principal-traded-office-rolling-cart-debate-rcna104413}}</ref>
* [[Baggage cart]]: pushed by travelers to carry individual luggage
* [[Serving cart]]: also known as ''pushcart'' or ''go-cart'', is a handcart used for serving:
* [[Food cart]]: a mobile kitchen that is set up on the street to facilitate the sale and marketing of street food to people from the local pedestrian traffic.
* Food service cart: also named ''serving trolley'', for serving the food in a restaurant
* Pastry cart: for serving pastry
* Tea cart: also named ''teacart or Chai Cart'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chai Cart – Weddings & Events – Desi Chai – UK – Wedding Hire |url=https://chai-cart.co.uk/ |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=Chai Cart – Weddings & Events – Desi Chai – UK – Wedding Hire |language=en-GB}}</ref> ''tea trolley'' and ''tea wagon'', for serving tea or other drinks

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Human-powered carts">
File:PlattCrossing.jpg|Reenactment of 1856 [[Mormon handcart pioneers]]
File:Walking cart at Mackinac Bridge.jpg|A walking cart, used for long-distance travel (2007)
File:Rickshaw by fabichan in Arashiyama, Kyoto.jpg|[[Pulled rickshaw|Rickshaw]] (2004)
File:Street vender, Italian feast LCCN97519079.jpg|A street vender ([[costermonger]]) with food cart (1908)
File:NYC Hotdog cart.jpg|Modern street vender food cart (2007)
File:Passengers waiting for a flight to Shanghai in March 2020.jpg|Airport luggage carts (2020)
</gallery>

== Animal-powered carts ==

Larger carts may be drawn by animals, such as horses, mules, and oxen. They have been in continuous use since the invention of the wheel, in the 4th millennium BC. Carts may be named for the animal that pulls them, such as ''horsecart'' or ''oxcart''. In modern times, horsecarts are used in competition while [[draft horse showing]]. A ''[[dogcart]]'', however, is usually a cart designed to ''carry'' [[hunting dog]]s: an open cart with two cross-seats back to back; the dogs could be penned between the rear-facing seat and the back end.

The term "cart" (synonymous in this sense with ''chair'') is also used for various kinds of lightweight, two-wheeled carriages, some of them ''[[sprung cart]]s'' (or ''spring carts''), especially those used as open pleasure or sporting vehicles. They could be drawn by a horse, pony or dog. Examples include:

* Cocking cart: short-bodied, high, two-wheeled, seat for a groom behind the box; for [[tandem]] driving{{r|smith|page=53}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.caaonline.com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key=15&MCat=16 |title=Carriage Tour |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027142119/http://www.caaonline.com/caa_content.asp?PageType=Dept&Key=15&MCat=16 |archive-date=October 27, 2007 |website=[[Carriage Association of America]]}}</ref>
* [[Dogcart]]: light, usually one horse, commonly two-wheeled and high, two transverse seats set back to back{{r|smith|page=66}}
* [[Float (horse-drawn)|Float]]: a dropped axle to give an especially low load bed, for carrying heavy or unstable items such as [[milk churn]]s. The name survives today as a [[milkfloat]].{{r|smith|page=79}}
* [[Governess cart]]: light, two-wheeled, entered from the rear, body partly or wholly of [[wickerwork]], seat for two persons along each side; also called ''governess car, tub-cart''{{r|smith|page=88}}
* [[Ralli car]]: light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn, for two persons facing forward, or four, two facing forward and two rearward. The seat is adjustable fore-and-aft to keep the vehicle balanced for two or four people.{{r|smith|page=139}}
* Stolkjaerre: two-wheeled, front seat for two, rear seat for the driver; used in Norway{{r|smith|page=155}}
* Tax cart: spring cart, formerly subject to a small tax in England; also called ''taxed cart''{{r|smith|page=160}}
* Whitechapel cart: spring cart, light, two-wheeled, especially for family or light delivery service{{r|smith|page=173}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scalemodelhorsedrawnvehicle.co.uk/(carriages).htm|title=Horse Drawn Carriages|publisher=Scalemodelhorsedrawnvehicle.co.uk|access-date=August 25, 2014|archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429114025/http://www.scalemodelhorsedrawnvehicle.co.uk/(carriages).htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/news/local/horse-drawn-vehicles-in-the-19th-century-1-4189245 |title=Horse drawn vehicles in the 19th Century – Driffield Post Times|publisher=Driffieldtoday.co.uk |date=January 27, 2012 |access-date=2014-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220215507/http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/news/local/horse-drawn-vehicles-in-the-19th-century-1-4189245 |archive-date=February 20, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The builder of a cart may be known as a ''cartwright''; the surname "Carter" also derives from the occupation of transporting goods by cart or wagon.

Carts have many different shapes, but the basic idea of transporting material (or maintaining a collection of materials in a portable fashion) remains. Carts may have a pair of shafts, one along each side of the draught animal that supports the forward-balanced load in the cart. The shafts are supported by a saddle on the horse. Alternatively (and normally where the animals are oxen or buffalo), the cart may have a single pole between a pair of animals. The draught traces attach to the axle of the vehicle or to the shafts. The traces are attached to a collar (on horses), to a yoke (on other heavy draught animals) or to a harness on dogs or other light animals.

Traces are made from a range of materials depending on the load and frequency of use. Heavy draught traces are made from iron or steel chain. Lighter traces are often leather and sometimes hemp [[rope]], but plaited horse-hair and other similar decorative materials can be used.

The dray is often associated with the transport of [[barrel]]s.{{r|smith|page=68}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Horse-drawn carts">
File:Mejuffrouw Tachard en Ernst van Loon in een rijtuig voor huis Hydepark, RP-F-2007-361-27.jpg|Pony and cart (Netherlands, 1888)
File:Driving Competion (3716744148).jpg|Modern cart (England, 2009)
File:Grey Orlov Trotter.jpg|[[Sulky|Racing sulkies]] are carts (Russia, 2010)
File:Hammond Slides Samarkand 05.jpg|Donkey and cart (Uzbekistan, 1964)
File:Donkey with Cart.jpg|Small utility cart with donkey (Ghana, 2020)
</gallery>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Other animals">
File:Bullock Cart (গোরুর গাড়ি), Rural Bengal.jpg|Oxen (Bengal, 2020)
File:Bokkenwagen.jpg|Goat (Netherlands, 2018)
File:Dog carting by beach.jpg|[[drafting (dog)|Dog carting]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

; Pulled carts
* [[Bicycle trailer]] – pulled by bicycles
* [[Bullock cart]] – pulled by oxen
* [[Dogcart (dog-drawn)|Dog cart]] – pulled by dogs
* [[Rickshaw]] – pulled by humans
* [[Horse-drawn vehicles]] – pulled by horses

; Horse-drawn
* [[Carriage]]
* [[Chariot]]
* [[Float (horse-drawn)|Float]]
* [[Hansom cab]]
* [[Sled]]/sleigh
* [[Sulky]]
* [[Wagon]]

; Human powered push-carts
* [[Hand truck]]
* [[Wheelbarrow]]
* [[Baggage cart]]
* [[Shopping cart]]
* [[Serving cart]]

; Miscellaneous
* {{Annotated link|Carter (name)}}
* {{Annotated link|Misraħ Għar il-Kbir}}
* {{Annotated link|Sling cart}}
* {{Annotated link|Wainwright (occupation)}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="smith">{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles |first=D.J.M. |last=Smith |year=1988 |publisher=J. A. Allen & Co. Ltd. |isbn=0851314686 |ol=11597864M}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links}}

{{Horse-drawn carriages|state=collapsed}}
{{Human-powered vehicles|state=collapsed}}
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[[Category:Carts| ]]
[[Category:Horse driving]]
[[Category:Human-powered vehicles]]
[[Category:Animal-powered vehicles]]