Wordology, Ambulance

The word 'ambulance' derives from the Latin 'ambulare', meaning 'to walk or move about'. This gave rise to the French hôpital (sic) ambulant, meaning mobile hospital. It used to refer to a temporary medical structure that could be easily moved, such as movable army medical hospitals. In English, ambulance first appeared around 1798 and also referred to temporary hospital structures.

Ambulances were first used for emergency transport in 1487 by the Spanish, and civilian variants were put into operation in the 1830s. Mobile medical transport vehicles were also called ambulances in French and were designed to get injured soldiers off the battlefield and to medical aid during battle. One of the first instances of this was during the Crimean War. During the American Civil War they were known as ambulance wagons.

The first known hospital-based ambulance service was based out of Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, US, in 1865.