The word 'rickshaw' originates from the Japanese word 'jinrikisha', which literally translates to human-powered vehicle with 'jin' meaning man, 'riki' meaning power or force and 'sha' meaning vehicle. The earliest known use of the word was in 1879 in the writing of Bishop of Homoco, as per Oxford English Dictionary. Rickshaws were apparently first introduced in India in the 1880s.