velocipede English · revision 1072

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vɪˈlɒs.ɪ.piːd/; /vəˈlɑsəˌpid/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|vélocipède]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[la|velox|t=swift]] and ''pēs'', ''pedem'' “foot”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It is related to [[velocity]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==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).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ An 1819 report quoted by Etymonline describes riders covering three miles in fifteen minutes on these “pedestrian hobby-horses”.^(Etymonline) From 1849–50 the name was applied to early bicycles and tricycles with pedals,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and it was also used of a kind of roller skate (1825) and of a three-wheeled railway handcar.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1818 – a vehicle pushed by the feet.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1825 – a kind of roller skate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1849–50 – an early pedal bicycle or tricycle.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An early [[bicycle]] or [[tricycle]], especially one with pedals on the front wheel.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An early two-wheeled vehicle propelled by pushing the feet along the ground.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A light three-wheeled pedal vehicle for one person, used for inspecting railway track.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[velocipedist]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[velocity]]

+ * [[velodrome]]

+ * [[bicycle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}