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wagon-lit

sleeping car

noun vah-GOHN-lee Rare
Travel & Places Transportation

Usage Note

Wagon-lit is a compound noun meaning a railway carriage with sleeping berths, of the kind provided by the historic Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, founded in 1872 by Georges Nagelmackers, which also operated the Orient-Express. The plural is wagons-lits. In modern usage it may be called voiture-couchettes for a couchette car or voiture-lits for a proper sleeper, though wagon-lit remains the culturally iconic term.

Examples

"Nous avons réservé un wagon-lit pour la nuit."

Natural Translation

We booked a sleeping car for the night.

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