Why Are Trucks Called ‘Lorries’ In England?

Language is one of those things we all use on a daily basis, and, as a result, tend to pay very little attention to. Much like breathing, it’s clever and remarkably important, but something all of us tend to take for granted. While variations in language do exist, such as little colloquial variations on how one word is pronounced or how an object is described, most of us can usually figure out what another person is talking about despite the differences.

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Sometimes, though, one particular place or group of people will use a word or phrase so unlike the universally accepted term, it can leave outsiders bewildered as to what the other is talking about. One such example is what the British tend to call trucks; up and down the country, what the rest of us would usually refer to as a truck simply gets called a lorry. Whether they are referring to a small local-use truck, a semi-truck, or anything else in between, the English use “lorry” as a catch-all word. As is the case with many things in language, the origins aren’t necessarily 100% clear, but the most commonly accepted etymology is that lorry originates from the verb “lurry,” which traces its roots back as far as the 16th or 17th century.

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It’s not clear when the first use of “lurry” was, but it’s generally agreed upon that to lurry something meant to carry or to drag it along, and so we can immediately see how this connects with trucks and lorries in the 21st century. The Brits coined the word lorry over 100 years ago, with the use of the word to describe a large motor vehicle for carrying goods tracing its roots back to 1911. This isn’t the only time Brits have been stubborn about language rules — just look at biscuits (cookies) and chips (fries) as an example of how language has developed between the two nations over the years.

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To be clear, while using “lorry” in the U.S. may leave your audience looking a little bewildered, the same isn’t true if you use the word “truck” in England. “Lorry” and “truck” are pretty interchangeable in England, although “tractor-trailer” and “big rig” are largely unknown phrases, and most won’t know what “semi” means on a semi-truck either. It’s also worth adding that while Brits will know that 18-wheelers are some of the biggest trucks on the road, they certainly won’t have seen one on home turf: Heavy goods vehicles in the U.K. cannot exceed 18 meters — or just over 59 feet — by law.