(Brit.)a vehicle equipped for living in, typically towed by a car and used for holidays (英)(活动房式的)拖车 [as modifier]a caravan holiday. 一次拖车度假。 ■a covered horse-drawn wagon 马拉篷车 a gypsy caravan. 一辆吉卜赛马拉篷车。 ■(N. Amer.)a covered lorry (北美)有篷卡车
(historical)a group of people, especially traders or pilgrims, travelling together across a desert in Asia or North Africa (史)(穿越亚洲或北非沙漠的)旅行队(尤指商队,朝圣队伍) ■any large group of people, typically with vehicles or animals travelling together, in single file (尤指与车辆、动物同行的)单行队伍 a caravan of cars and trucks. 一支由汽车和卡车组成的单行车队。
语源
late 15th cent. (in sense 2): from French caravane, from Persian kārwān. The sense 'covered horse-drawn wagon' dates from the early 19th cent