The origins of the word go back to the late 1800s and it was the name given to the person responsible for stoking a steam engine to keep it running. The French verb “chauffer” means “to heat” and so a chauffeur is the “one that heats”.
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The timeline for the word chauffeur starts around 1896, from the French term for “stoker”, because railroad and sea vessels were steam-powered and required the driver to stoke the engine.
25 Sep The History of the Chauffeur – It's a Horse and Cart Business! The term 'chauffeur' has been around since 1896 and it originated from the French word for 'stoker'. Stokers were employed to stoke (feed coal to) the engines of the first vehicles that used steam powered engines such as locomotives or steamships.
A driver is any operator of a motor vehicle.A chauffeur is someone employed to look after the needs of the passenger as well as the operation of the motor vehicle. A chauffeur is an experienced, licensed professional.
“Chauffeur” is a masculine French word, with the feminine equivalent being “chauffeuse” but, like many historically gendered professions, “chauffeur” has now become the accepted gender-neutral term, with “chauffeuse” now more likely to be used to describe a chair by a fireplace.