bicycle English · revision 10642

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1868|origins=en bi-|origins=grc κύκλος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbaɪ.sɪ.kəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably formed in English from [[bi-]], two, and -cycle, a Latinized form of Greek [[m|grc|κύκλος|tr=kúklos|t=circle, wheel]] (see [[cycle]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) on the pattern of earlier [[tricycle]] (1828, of carriages).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Most dictionaries say it was borrowed from French,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) but Barnhart notes that bicyclette is not recorded in French until 1869 and that French scholars take it as an English borrowing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A two-wheeled machine for riding: 1868, perhaps 1866 in American patents.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Both the word and the machine superseded the earlier [[velocipede]], literally “rapid foot”.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The confusion over its origin may come from Pierre Lallement, a workman in a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.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The verb is from 1869,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and the short form [[bike]] followed in the late 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1828 – tricycle (carriage).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1868 – bicycle.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1869 – to bicycle (verb).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * late 19th century – bike.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[vehicle]] with two wheels one behind the other, a saddle, handlebars, and pedals that drive the rear wheel by a [[chain]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To ride a bicycle.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==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==

+ {{reflist}}