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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)}}
[[File:Horse & cart, Town, Beamish Museum, 21 November 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Horse and cart (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.

The word ''cart'' is often used interchangeably with ''trolley'' (especially in the UK) and ''wagon'' (especially in the US).{{r|berkebile1978|pp=47, 268, 308}} Over time, the word "cart" has expanded to mean nearly any small conveyance without regard to number of wheels, load carried, or means of propulsion. The word ''car'' has often been modified to ''cart'' through [[Colloquialism|colloquialization]]. For example, several small sport and hobby ''cars'' carry "cart" in their name such as [[pedal cart]]s (manually pedaled), [[soap-box cart]]s (gravity run), and [[go-cart]]s (gas engine). Similarly, ''golf cars'' are more commonly known as [[golf cart]]s.{{r|ansi}}

==History==

[[File:Eastern Han Bronze Chariot (10336760463).jpg|thumb|[[Han dynasty]] bronze figures, 1st or 2nd century AD]]
The history of the cart is closely tied to the [[invention of the wheel]]. Pre-dating the wheel there were dragged devices like [[sledge]]s and [[travois]]. The earliest known wheels date back to around 3400 to 3000 BC. The combination of the wheel and axle enabled the development of early wheeled vehicles which transformed human mobility and trade. The earliest wheeled vehicles had four-wheels ([[wagon]]s), however two-wheeled vehicles (carts) required about 40% less pulling force than a four-wheeled vehicle of the same weight and were more maneuverable.{{r|hirst|klein}}{{r|anthony|p=65-66}}

With the domestication of animals such as [[oxen]] and [[horse]]s, carts became central to ancient economies. Animal‑drawn carts and wagons were widely used across civilizations for farming, trade, and migration. Their evolution—from solid wooden wheels to lighter spoked designs—marked a major technological advance, improving efficiency and enabling long‑distance transport.{{r|piggott|anthony}}

== Human-powered carts ==

=== Large carts ===

* [[Pulled rickshaw|Rickshaw]]: Used to transport passengers
* Pushcart: a [[street vendor]]'s or [[costermonger]]'s cart which carries goods for sale and is manually pushed into position near streets or marketplaces.{{r|collins-pushcart}}
* [[Food cart]]: a mobile kitchen set up on the street to prepare and sell food to passers-by
* [[Mormon handcart pioneers|Mormon handcarts]]: A large cart used in the mid-1800s by westward-emigrating Mormons to carry their belongings

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Large human-powered carts">
File:Rickshaw by fabichan in Arashiyama, Kyoto.jpg|[[Pulled rickshaw|Rickshaw]]
File:Street vendor's mobile stall in India.jpg|Street vendor pushcart
File:Batagor vendor 4.jpg|Modern [[food cart]]s
File:PlattCrossing.jpg|[[Mormon handcart pioneers|Mormon handcart]]
</gallery>

=== Small carts ===

Small human pushed or pulled conveyances commonly called carts can have any number of wheels (not limited to two). The term ''handcart'' can mean any of numerous small conveyances.{{r|collins-handcart}}

* [[Hand truck]]: A two-wheeled upright handcart for moving boxes, sacks, large appliances and other loads
* [[Baggage cart]]: for travelers to carry luggage in places like airports and train stations
* [[Shopping cart]]: a wheeled basket supplied by a store for use by customers inside the premises as they move around selecting items prior to paying for those goods
* [[Serving cart]]: for transporting prepared food for serving to customers such as in a restaurant or airplanes; may be named for what it carries, such as tea cart for tea service, or pastry cart for offering desserts at a restaurant

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" caption="Small human-powered carts">
File:Pepsi Cola soda beverage.jpg|[[Hand truck]]s
File:Chariot à bagages Orly.jpg|Airport [[baggage cart]]
File:Carrinhosupermercado.JPG|[[Shopping cart]]
</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 [[draft horse showing]] competitions. 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 or pony—and if small enough, a 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]]: a two-wheeled vehicle for two persons facing forward, or four back to back.{{r|smith|page=139}}
* Stolkjaerre: two-wheeled, front seat for two, rear seat for the driver; used in Norway{{r|smith|page=155}}
* 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''. A person operating a horse and cart for haulage was called a ''[[wikt:carter#English|carter]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Carter? |url=https://www.unlockyourpast.co.uk/old-occupation-carter/ |first=Sarah |last=Smith |website=Unlock Your Past |date=21 June 2024}}</ref> and the surname "[[Carter (name)|Carter]]" derives from the occupation.

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:Beverley Gas Works, Old Hull Road 1910 (archive ref DDX1544-1-11) (28284430335).jpg|Heavy hauling cart (England, circa 1910)
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
* [[Horse-drawn vehicle]] – pulled by horses

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

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

; Images
* {{Commons category-inline|Carts}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Hand carts}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Pushcarts}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="ansi">{{Cite web |title=ANSI/OPEI Z130.1-2020: Golf Cars Safety Specifications |url=https://blog.ansi.org/ansi/ansi-opei-z130-1-2020-golf-cars-safety/ |date=August 4, 2020 |first=Brad |last=Kelechava |website=[[American National Standards Institute]]}}</ref>

<ref name="anthony">{{cite book |last=Anthony |first=David W. |title=The Horse, the Wheel, and Language : How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World |year=2007 |publisher=Princeton University Press |ol=11182657M |isbn=9780691058870}}</ref>

<ref name="berkebile1978">{{Cite book |last=Berkebile |first=Donald H. |title=Carriage Terminology: An Historical Dictionary |year=1978 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press |isbn=9781935623434 |ol=33342342M}}</ref>

<ref name="collins-handcart">{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/handcart |title=Definition of 'handcart' |website=Collins online dictionary}}</ref>

<ref name="collins-pushcart">{{Cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pushcart |title=Definition of 'pushcart' |website=Collins online dictionary}}</ref>

<ref name="hirst">{{Cite web |title=The Invention of the Wheel and Wheeled Vehicles : The Impact of Wheeled Vehicles on Human History |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/wheeled-vehicles-history-practical-human-use-171870 |website=ThoughtCo |first=K. Kris |last=Hirst |date=September 20, 2018 |orig-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="klein">{{Cite journal |title=Evolution of the Wheel |first=H. E. |last=Kleinschmidt |journal=The Scientific Monthly |date=October 1944 |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=273-282 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/18250}}</ref>

<ref name="piggott">{{cite book |last=Piggott |first=Stuart |title=The Earliest Wheeled Transport |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1983 |isbn=9780801416040}}</ref>

<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>

}}

{{Horse-drawn carriages|state=collapsed}}
{{Human-powered vehicles|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Carts| ]]
[[Category:Horse driving]]
[[Category:Human-powered vehicles]]
[[Category:Animal-powered vehicles]]