cycle English · revision 4332

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=a. 1387|origins=grc κύκλος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cicle]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|cicle]], cycle,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and directly from [[la-lat|cyclus]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[grc|κύκλος|tr=kýklos|t=circle, ring, wheel; circular motion, cycle of events]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from a reduplicated, suffixed form of [[ine-pro|*kʷel-|alt=*kwel-|t=to revolve, move round]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[wheel]] and [[cyclone]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A recurrent period of time, at first in astronomy and the reckoning of the calendar: before 1387 in Barnhart, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon,^(Barnhart 1988) 1387 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) Hoad notes that it was used only occasionally before the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense, a period in which a round of events is completed, is from 1662,^(OED 1989) and “any recurring round of operations or events”, as in a life cycle, from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Johnson in 1755 defined it as “a circle” and “a round of time”.^(Johnson 1755) A single complete period in a cycle is from 1821.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A series of poems or romances around a central event or hero is from 1835,^(OED 1989) the 19th century in Hoad.^(Hoad 1986) The verb, to revolve or recur in cycles, is from 1842, in Tennyson's Two Voices.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) As a short form of [[bicycle]] or tricycle it gave the verb “to ride a bicycle”, from 1883 in the OED and Barnhart,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) by 1881 in Etymonline, implied in cycling;^(Etymonline) ''cyclist'' is from 1882.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Cyclic'' is from 1794.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1387 – a recurrent period of years.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1662 – a round of events.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1794 – ''cyclic''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1821 – one complete period.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1835 – a cycle of poems.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1842 – verb, to revolve in cycles.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1882 – ''cyclist''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1883 – verb, to ride a bicycle.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A period of time in which a regularly repeated event or sequence of events happens.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A single complete run of a repeated process: ''a washing cycle''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A series of events that repeats in the same order: ''the cycle of the seasons''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A long period of time; an [[age]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A group of poems, songs or stories about a central theme or [[hero]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A [[bicycle]], [[motorcycle]] or similar vehicle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To occur in or pass through a cycle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To ride a bicycle or similar vehicle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cycler]]

+ * [[acyclic]]

+ * [[cyclase]]

+ * [[cyclecar]]

+ * [[two-cycle]]

+ * [[cyclic]]

+ * [[cyclin]]

+ * [[cyclize]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bicycle]]

+ * [[cycleway]]

+ * [[motorcycle]]

+ * [[quadricycle]]

+ * [[tricycle]]

+ * [[unicycle]]

+ * [[recycle]]

+ * [[cyclist]]

+ * [[cyclone]]

+ * [[encyclopedia]]

+ * [[wheel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}