bicycle

bicycle
\ \ [19] The word bicycle, literally ‘twowheeled’ (from Greek kúklos ‘circle, wheel’), was originally coined in French, and first appeared in English in 1868, in the 7 September edition of the Daily News: ‘bysicles and trysicles which we saw in the Champs Élysées and the Bois de Boulogne this summer’. This reflects the fact that it was in the 1860s that the bicycle first assumed the form we know it in today, with pedals and cranks driving the front wheel. (Slightly earlier was the now obsolete velocipede, literally ‘swift foot’, first applied to pedal bicycles and tricycles around 1850. Until the introduction of pneumatic tyres in the 1880s, the new cycles were known as bone-shakers – a term first encountered in 1874.)
\ \ Cf.⇒ CYCLE, WHEEL

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • bicycle — [ bisikl ] n. m. • 1869; mot angl., de bi et gr. kuklos → 2. cycle ♦ Anciennt Vélocipède à deux roues de taille inégale. ♢ Région. (Canada) Fam. Bicyclette. « On est revenus en marchant à côté de nos bicycles » (R. Ducharme). ● bicycle nom… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Bicycle — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Bicycle es el nombre de una baraja de cartas producida por USPC (The United States Playing Cards) utilizada en la gran mayoría de casinos de América. También es una de las barajas más utilizadas por los ilusionistas… …   Wikipedia Español

  • bicycle — [bī′sik΄əl, bī′si kəl] n. [Fr: see BI 1 & CYCLE] a vehicle consisting of a tubular metal frame mounted on two large, wire spoked wheels, one behind the other, and equipped with handlebars, a saddlelike seat, and foot pedals vi. bicycled,… …   English World dictionary

  • bicycle — ► NOUN ▪ a vehicle consisting of two wheels held in a frame one behind the other, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel. ► VERB ▪ ride a bicycle. DERIVATIVES bicyclist noun. ORIGIN from Greek kuklos wheel …   English terms dictionary

  • Bicycle — Bi cy*cle, n. [Pref. bi + cycle.] A light vehicle having two wheels one behind the other. It has a saddle seat and is propelled by the rider s feet acting on cranks or levers. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Bicycle — (engl., franz., spr. bai oder bißĭkl ), s. Fahrrad …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Bicycle — (engl., spr. beißĭkl) zweiräderiges Fahrrad …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • bicycle — (n.) 1868, coined from BI (Cf. bi ) two + Gk. kyklos circle, wheel (see CYCLE (Cf. cycle) (n.)), on the pattern of TRICYCLE (Cf. tricycle); both the word and the vehicle superseding earlier VELOCIPEDE (Cf. velocipede). The English word probably… …   Etymology dictionary

  • bicycle — [n] pedal driven recreational vehicle bike, cycle, tandem, two wheeler, velocipede, wheels; concepts 364,505 …   New thesaurus

  • Bicycle — For other uses, see Bicycle (disambiguation). A mountain bike, a popular multi use bicycle. A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human powered, pedal driven, single track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one… …   Wikipedia

  • bicycle — bicyclist, bicycler, n. /buy si keuhl, sik euhl, suy keuhl/, n., v., bicycled, bicycling. n. 1. a vehicle with two wheels in tandem, usually propelled by pedals connected to the rear wheel by a chain, and having handlebars for steering and a… …   Universalium

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