Etymologically
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cyclist

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈsaɪ.klɪst/, /ˈsaɪ.kəlɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English cycle + -ist,[2][3][4][5] with cycle in the sense of a bicycle, tricycle or similar machine, a word taken from the ending of bicycle and tricycle.[2] Etymonline explains it as bicycle with the suffix.[6] The OED compares the earlier bicyclist and the slightly earlier cycler.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who rides a bicycle or other cycle: 1877, in the Bicycle Journal.[2] Merriam-Webster and Etymonline date it to 1882,[7][6] and Dictionary.com to 1880–85.[5]

Semantic evolution

Cycler is recorded from 1880, and purists who preferred native words used wheelman.[6] An older cyclist, formed from cycle in its sense of a recurring period or a cycle of poems, was used in 1847–73 for the Cyclic poets who continued Homer and in 1866 for a person who believed that weather runs in cycles; the OED treats it as a separate noun, now obsolete.[2][3][6]

Timeline

  • 1847 – an epic poet of the Homeric cycle (obsolete).[2]
  • 1866 – one who believes that weather recurs in cycles (rare).[2]
  • 1877 – a rider of a bicycle or other cycle.[2]
  • 1882 – first date in Merriam-Webster and Etymonline.[7][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who rides a bicycle or other cycle, especially one who does so regularly: A group of cyclists overtook us on the hill.[2][3][7][8]
  2. A rider of a motorcycle.[9][8]
  3. (rare) A person who sees regular cycles in the course of events.[3][2][6]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins