Mercedes

Definition

Clipping of Mercedes-Benz (“a car manufactured by Mercedes-Benz”).

Etymology

From Spanish Mercedes (Mary, Our Lady of Mercy). The car was named for Mercédès Jellinek, the daughter of Austrian businessman Emil Jellinek who ordered 36 cars from Gottlieb Daimler.

Example Sentences

• "On a bridge that leads from Nile Street to the café in Tahrir Square where [Naguib] Mahfouz takes his morning coffee, there is often a beggar working his way among cars stuck in the city’s perpetual traffic jam. One of his legs is missing, and he hops up to the windows of the Mercedeses and Fiats on his remaining, bare foot."
• "Samuel T. blew off the line-up of sheep at the base of Easterly’s hill, shooting his Jag around the Mercedeses, Audis, Porsches, and limos, and waving at the parkers who tried to flag him down so he’d stop."
• "Anton and I saw each of them pull up in their Mercedeses and BMWs and park quasi-legally within a convenient distance of the diner."