Editing Roller coaster (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Dorney Park Steel Force Thunderhawk.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Steel Force]] (left) and [[Thunderhawk (Dorney Park)|Thunderhawk]] (right), two roller coasters at [[Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom]] in [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]]. Steel Force is the [[List of roller coaster rankings#Longest steel roller coasters|eighth longest steel roller coaster]] in the world.]]
There are several explanations for the name ''roller coaster''. It is said to have originated from an early American design where slides or ramps were fitted with rollers over which a sled would coast.<ref name="Urbanowicz"/> This design was abandoned in favor of fitting the wheels to the sled or other vehicles, but the name endured.

Another explanation is that the phrase originated from a ride located in a [[Roller rink|roller skating rink]] in [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]], [[Massachusetts]] in 1887. A [[toboggan]]-like sled was raised to the top of a track which consisted of hundreds of rollers. This ''Roller Toboggan'' then took off down gently rolling hills to the floor. The inventors of this ride, Stephen E. Jackman and Byron B. Floyd, claim that they were the first to use the term "roller coaster".<ref name="Rutherford" />

The term ''jet coaster'' is used for roller coasters in Japan, where such amusement park rides are very popular.<ref name=Alvey>Robb and Elissa Alvey. [http://www.themeparkreview.com/japan2004/japan.htm "Theme Park Review: Japan 2004"], ''themeparkreview.com''.  Retrieved on March 18, 2008.</ref>

In many languages, including most [[Romance languages]], the name refers to "Russian mountains". Conversely, in Russian, they are called "Американские горки" (''Amerikanskiye gorki'', "American hills"). In the [[Scandinavian languages]], the roller coaster is referred as "mountain-and-valley railway". German has the word ''Achterbahn'', stemming from ''Figur-8-Bahn'', relating to the form of the number 8 (''acht'' in German). This is similar to the Dutch ''Achtbaan'', in which ''acht'' also means "eight".