What does cabrio mean?
A cabrio is an informal shortening of the word cabriolet, used to describe a car whose roof can be folded down or removed altogether — in everyday terms, a convertible. The clipped form is especially common in casual conversation, car advertising, and automotive writing, where it carries connotations of leisure, sunshine, and open-air driving pleasure. The longer term cabriolet entered English in the eighteenth century, originally denoting a light, two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, and was later transferred to open-top motor cars. The word ultimately derives, via French, from the Latin caper, meaning 'goat' — a reference to the light carriage's skittish, leaping movement. Today, whether spelled as a standalone word or appearing in model names such as the Volkswagen Golf Cabrio, it is understood across the English-speaking world as shorthand for a soft-top car built for enjoying the weather rather than merely getting from place to place.
nounAn informal shortening of 'cabriolet', meaning a car with a folding or removable roof; a convertible.
- A convertible car with an open top or folding roof (informal shortening of cabriolet).
"She lowered the roof of her cabrio and drove along the coast road."
"The dealer showed us a red two-seater cabrio with the top down."
"Nothing beats a summer evening's drive in a cabrio."
Regular English plural.
"The showroom had three cabrios on display."
'Cabrio' literally traces back to a Latin word for 'goat' — the original cabriolet was a light carriage that seemed to leap about like a kid!
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cabrio
Cabrio is a clipped form of cabriolet, which came into English from French in the late eighteenth century to denote a light, two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. The French word derives from cabriole, referring to a leaping motion, ultimately from Latin caper, meaning 'goat' — so named because the carriage moved lightly and nimbly. When motoring arrived, the term was carried over to open-top automobiles, and the shortened form cabrio became common in everyday usage.
How cabrio is actually used
Informal register, common in everyday speech, motoring journalism, and advertising; 'cabriolet' is the fuller, more formal term. Widely used in both British and American English.
Easily confused with cabrio
A cabana is a temporary shelter or changing hut at a beach or pool, while a cabrio is a convertible car.