Carriage, n.
Etymology: [OF. cariage luggage, carriage, chariage carriage, cart, baggage, F. charriage, cartage, wagoning, fr. OF. carier, charier, F. charrier, to cart. See Carry.]
1. That which is carried; burden; baggage. [Obs.] David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage. 1. Sam. xvii. 22. And after those days we took up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. Acts. xxi. 15.
2. The act of carrying, transporting, or conveying. Nine days employed in carriage. Chapman.
3. The price or expense of carrying.
4. That which carries of conveys, as: (a) A wheeled vehicle for persons, esp. one designed for elegance and comfort. (b) A wheeled vehicle carrying a fixed burden, as a gun carriage. (c) A part of a machine which moves and carries of supports some other moving object or part. (d) A frame or cage in which something is carried or supported; as, a bell carriage.
2 more senses
5. The manner of carrying one's self; behavior; bearing; deportment; personal manners. His gallant carriage all the rest did grace. Stirling.
6. The act or manner of conducting measures or projects; management. The passage and whole carriage of this action. Shak. Carriage horse, a horse kept for drawing a carriage. -- Carriage porch (Arch.), a canopy or roofed pavilion covering the driveway at the entrance to any building. It is intended as a shelter for those who alight from vehicles at the door; -- sometimes erroneously called in the United States porte-cochère.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for carriage; he lists it under air, behavior.
Where he writes about it:
Carriage, too, is generally used in a good sense; as, that lady has a good carriage. — from air
Carriage expresses simply the manner of holding the body, especially in sitting or walking, as when it is said of a lady "she has a fine carriage." Bearing refers to the bodily expression of feeling or disposition; as, a haughty bearing; a noble bearing. — from behavior