pedal

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from French pédale,^[2][3][4][5] recorded in Middle French from 1560 for the pedal of an organ,^[2] borrowed from Italian pedale (“organ pedal; base of a tree”),^[2][3][6][7] from Latin pedālis (“of the foot; a foot long”),^[2][3][4][8] through pedāle (“thing of the foot”) according to Etymonline and Barnhart.^[4][5] The Latin adjective is formed from pēs (“foot”) (stem ped-) and -ālis,^[2][8][9] from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”), the source of English foot.^{[4][3][9][10]} The Italian word meant the base of a tree trunk from 1304 and an organ pedal from 1561.^[2] The adjective "of the foot" is borrowed directly from the Latin adjective,^{[2][8][6][11]} and the verb is a conversion of the noun.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A lever on an organ worked by the foot: 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^[2][5][8]

Semantic evolution

From the organ the word spread to the foot levers of the harp (1771) and the piano (1816, first in J. Austen).^[2] From 1789 it was also used of any foot lever that drives or controls a machine, such as a lathe or a sewing machine.^[2][4] Bicycle pedals are recorded from 1845,^[2] the pedals of a motor car from 1902,^[2] and those of drum kits and electric guitars from 1934 and 1967.^[2] The phrase put the pedal to the metal, to drive as fast as possible, appears in American CB slang in 1976.^[2][12] The verb was first used of organs (1866 in Etymonline) and then of bicycles (1883 in the OED, 1888 in Etymonline).^[4][2][8] The adjective, "relating to the foot", is recorded from 1625, or 1618 in Merriam-Webster,^[2][8] and is now mainly anatomical and zoological;^[2][6] its pronunciation with a long e is limited to this sense.^[2] In American slang pedal has also meant a foot, from 1908.^[12]

Timeline

• 1611 – a foot-operated lever on an organ.^[2][5]
• 1625 – adjective, of the foot.^[2]
• 1771 – a pedal of a harp.^[2]
• 1789 – a foot lever that operates a machine.^[2][4]
• 1816 – a pedal of a piano.^[2]
• 1845 – a bicycle pedal.^[2]
• 1866 – verb, to work the pedals of an organ.^[4]
• 1883 – verb, to ride a bicycle.^[2][8]
• 1902 – a control pedal of a motor car.^[2]
• 1976 – put the pedal to the metal.^[2][12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lever worked by the foot, as on a bicycle, a car or a sewing machine: She pressed the brake pedal hard.^[13][8][2]
2. A foot lever on a piano, organ or harp that changes the tone or pitch, or a key of an organ played with the feet.^[13][8][2]
3. (music) A pedal point.^[14]

Verb

1. To work the pedals of a bicycle or similar machine, or to ride one: He pedalled slowly up the lane.^[13][8][2]
2. To use the pedals of a piano or organ.^[8][2]

Adjective

1. Of or relating to the foot or feet, especially in anatomy and zoology.^[8][2][6]
2. Of or worked by a pedal.^[8]

Word family

• pedaller
• soft-pedal
• backpedal
• pedal pushers

Related words

• foot
• pedestal
• pedestrian
• impede
• biped
• peddle
• petal

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin