"baby carriage," 1881, shortening of perambulator, perhaps influenced by pram "flat-bottomed boat" especially a type used in the Baltic (1540s), from Old Norse pramr, from Balto-Slavic (compare Polish prom, Russian poromu "ferryboat," Czech pram "raft"), from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).