Original meaning
A cabriolet was a light, two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with a folding 'calash' top, seating two persons behind the driver's box. Developed in France in the early 19th century, the vehicle quickly replaced the heavier hackney carriage as the vehicle for hire of choice in Paris and London. The modern term (taxi)cab comes from "cabriolet" via "Hansom cab".
Modern meaning
A cabriolet (or cabrio) is a car body style that has a removable or retracting roof and rear window, known in America more commonly as "convertible". Soft tops are usually made of vinyl or canvas, and folding plastic rear windows are common. Owing to the issue of body flex , cabriolets almost always have only two doors.
See also
