velocipede

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vɪˈlɒs.ɪ.piːd/; /vəˈlɑsəˌpid/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French vélocipède,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Latin velox (“swift”) and pēs, pedem “foot”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is related to velocity.^[2][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A light vehicle with two or three wheels, propelled by pushing the feet against the ground; a dandy horse or hobby-horse (1818–19).^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

An 1819 report quoted by Etymonline describes riders covering three miles in fifteen minutes on these “pedestrian hobby-horses”.^[4] From 1849–50 the name was applied to early bicycles and tricycles with pedals,^[3][4][7] and it was also used of a kind of roller skate (1825) and of a three-wheeled railway handcar.^[7][5][6]

Timeline

• 1818 – a vehicle pushed by the feet.^[4][5][7]
• 1825 – a kind of roller skate.^[7]
• 1849–50 – an early pedal bicycle or tricycle.^[3][4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An early bicycle or tricycle, especially one with pedals on the front wheel.
2. An early two-wheeled vehicle propelled by pushing the feet along the ground.
3. A light three-wheeled pedal vehicle for one person, used for inspecting railway track.

Word family

• velocipedist

Related words

• velocity
• velodrome
• bicycle

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press