caterpillar traction
Preserved but no longer current.
This is a device for moving a heavy load over soft ground where wheels will sink. Round the wheels passes an endless band of linked plates which so forms a track along which the vehicle pro- gresses. The device is much used for agricul- tural vehicles and for tanks and other military vehicles.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “caterpillar traction” mean?
This is a device for moving a heavy load over soft ground where wheels will sink. Round the wheels passes an endless band of linked plates which so forms a track along which the vehicle pro- gresses. The device is much used for agricul- tural vehicles and for tanks and other military vehicles.
Is “caterpillar traction” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.