bicycle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbaɪ.sɪ.kəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is probably formed in English from bi-, two, and -cycle, a Latinized form of Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle, wheel”) (see cycle),^[2][3][4] on the pattern of earlier tricycle (1828, of carriages).^[2][3] Most dictionaries say it was borrowed from French,^[2][5][6] but Barnhart notes that bicyclette is not recorded in French until 1869 and that French scholars take it as an English borrowing.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A two-wheeled machine for riding: 1868, perhaps 1866 in American patents.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Both the word and the machine superseded the earlier velocipede, literally “rapid foot”.^[3][4] The confusion over its origin may come from Pierre Lallement, a workman in a French carriage works, who improved Macmillan's pedal velocipede of 1839 in 1865 and took the invention to America.^[2][3] The verb is from 1869,^[2][7] and the short form bike followed in the late 19th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 1828 – tricycle (carriage).^[2]
• 1868 – bicycle.^[2][7]
• 1869 – to bicycle (verb).^[2][7]
• late 19th century – bike.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A vehicle with two wheels one behind the other, a saddle, handlebars, and pedals that drive the rear wheel by a chain.

Verb

1. To ride a bicycle.

Word family

• bicycler
• bicyclist
• exercycle
• bicycle shorts
• bicycle motocross
• bicycle kick
• bicycle path
• exercise bicycle

Related words

• cycle
• motorcycle
• tricycle
• unicycle
• bike
• velocipede
• wheel

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press