bicycle

English

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bicycle

Etymology

Borrowed from French bicycle (modern bicyclette), from bi- (“bi-”) + cycle (“cycle”). First attested in English in 1868, and in French in 1847.

(promiscuous woman): From double meaning of ride ("to transport oneself upon" vs. "to mount someone to have sex with them"). A communal bicycle would have many riders.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/
(Canada, idle-idol split) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɪsɪkəl/
Audio (US): (file)
Audio (UK): (file)
Audio (General Australian): (file)
Hyphenation: bi‧cy‧cle

Noun

bicycle (plural bicycles)

(cycling) A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
Synonyms: (clipping) bike, pushbike, (historical) velocipede; see also Thesaurus:bicycle

Hypernym: cycle
- 1882, “Principle in Small Things”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 22, page 274:
  In most English villages, as we are informed, bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks; and the hand-books issued by English manufacturers of bicycles caution their customers that it is a forbidden practice, while in many places bells have to be attached to the bicycles even when ridden in the streets.
A traveling block used on a cable in skidding logs.
The best possible hand in lowball.
(British, Australia, New Zealand) A motorbike.
(vulgar slang, usually in compounds specifying a context) A slut; a promiscuous woman.
- 2002, Minette Walters, Fox Evil, Macmillan, pages 162–3:
  ‘What sort of bullying does this sergeant go in for?’ ‘Character assassination,’ she said in a matter-of-fact tone that belied the very real difficulties it was causing her. ‘There’s a lot of whispering about slags and tarts behind my back and sniggers whenever I appear. Half of the men seem to think I’m a dyke who needs curing, the other half think I’m the platoon bicycle. [...]’
(climbing) A stabilizing technique in which one foot is pushed down while the other is pulled up.
(poker slang) The wheel: either the lowest straight (A-2-3-4-5) or the best low hand in Lowball or High-low poker.

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

→ Burmese: ဘိုင်စကယ် (bhuingca.kai)
→ Central Dusun: bosikol
→ Kashubian: bajsykla (Canada, United States)
→ Malay: basikal
→ Maltese: bajsikil
→ Papiamentu: baiskel
→⇒ Serbo-Croatian: bajs
→ Sranan Tongo: baisigri
- Aukan: baisigii
- Saramaccan: baisígi
- → Kari'na: paisiki
→ Swahili: baiskeli
→ Tausug: basikul
→ Urdu: بائیسِکَل (bāīsikal)

Translations

vehicle

Afrikaans: fiets (af)
Akan: basekre
Albanian: biçikletë (sq) f
Amharic: ብስክሌት (bəskəlet)
Apache:
Western Apache: iłkádilʼisí
Arabic: دَرَّاجَة (ar) f (darrāja)
Egyptian Arabic: عجلة f (ʕagala), بسكلتة f (beskleta)

Gulf Arabic: قاري m (gāri)

Hijazi Arabic: بسكليتة f (buskulēta)

Iraqi Arabic: بايسِكِل m (bāysikil)

Moroccan Arabic: بشكليطة (bišklīṭa), بشكليطة (bšaklīṭa)
Armenian: հեծանիվ (hy) (hecaniv)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܕܲܪܵܓ݂ܬܵܐ f (darrāḡtā), ܕܲܪܵܓ݂ܬܵܐ ܗܵܘܵܝܬܵܐ f (darrāḡtā hāwāytā), ܒܵܝܸܣܟܸܠ f (bāyiskil)
Asturian: bicicleta (ast) f
Aukan: baisigii
Azerbaijani: velosiped (az), dırığın (dialectal)
Basque: txirrindu (eu), bizikleta (eu)
Belarusian: ро́вар m (róvar), веласіпе́д m (vjelasipjéd)
Bengali: ঠেংগাড়ী (bn) (ṭheṅgaṛi), সাইকেল (bn) (śaikel)
Bouyei: danycey
Breton: bisiklet (br) m, marc'h-houarn (br) m
Bulgarian: колело́ (bg) n (koleló), велосипе́д (bg) m (velosipéd)
Burmese: စက်ဘီး (my) (cakbhi:), ဘိုင်စကယ် (my) (bhuingca.kai)
Carpathian Rusyn: біціґель m (bicigelʹ)
Catalan: bicicleta (ca) f
Central Dusun: bosikol
Central Melanau: basikal
Cheyenne: amo'a'óvâhtsestôtse
Chichewa: njinga
Chinese:
Cantonese: 單車 / 单车 (yue) (daan¹ ce¹), 腳車 / 脚车 (yue) (goek³ ce¹), 自行車 / 自行车 (zi⁶ hang⁴ ce¹), 腳踏車 / 脚踏车 (goek³ daap⁶ ce¹)

Dungan: чидичәзы (čidičəzɨ)

Eastern Min: 跤踏車 / 跤踏车 (kă-dăk-chiă)

Hakka: 自行車 / 自行车 (chhṳ-hàng-chhâ), 腳踏車 / 脚踏车 (kiok-tha̍p-chhâ), 自轉車 / 自转车 (chhṳ-chón-chhâ)

Hokkien: 跤踏車 / 跤踏车 (zh-min-nan) (kha-ta̍h-chhia), 孔明車 / 孔明车 (zh-min-nan) (khóng-bêng-chhia), 自轉車 / 自转车 (zh-min-nan) (chū-choán-chhia), 鐵馬 / 铁马 (zh-min-nan) (thih-bé), 鐵馬仔 / 铁马仔 (thih-bé-á), 自輪車 / 自轮车 (chū-lián-chhia), 動輪車 / 动轮车 (tōng-lián-chhia), 獨輪車 / 独轮车 (to̍k-lián-chhia), 單車 / 单车 (tan-chhia), 自行車 / 自行车 (chū-hêng-chhia)

Mandarin: 自行車 / 自行车 (zh) (zìxíngchē), 腳踏車 / 脚踏车 (zh) (jiǎotàchē) (Taiwan), 單車 / 单车 (zh) (dānchē) (regional), 鐵馬 / 铁马 (zh) (tiěmǎ) (Taiwan), 自由車 / 自由车 (zìyóuchē)

Northern Min: 跤踏車 / 跤踏车 (káu-dā-chiá)

Teochew: 跤踏車 / 跤踏车 (ka¹ dah⁸ cia¹)

Wu: 腳踏車 / 脚踏车, 自行車 / 自行车 (⁶zy-yin-tsho)
Cornish: deuros, dewros f
Crimean Tatar: ayaqmaşina, ayaqmaşna
Czech: kolo (cs) n, jizdní kolo n, bicykl (cs) m
Danish: cykel (da) c
Dhivehi: ބައިސްކަލު (baiskalu)
Dutch: fiets (nl) m, rijwiel (nl) n (usually a bicycle)
Erzya: кавточары (kavtočari)
Esperanto: biciklo (eo)
Estonian: jalgratas (et), ratas (et) (colloquial)
Ewe: gasɔ
Farefare: kutuyeho, kut-weefo (dialectal), kutowefo
Faroese: súkkla (fo) f
Finnish: polkupyörä (fi), pyörä (fi), fillari (fi) (colloquial), velosipedi (fi) (obsolete)
Flemish: velo (nl) m
French: vélo (fr) m, bicyclette (fr) f, vélocipède (fr) m (dated)
Galician: bicicleta (gl) f
Georgian: ველოსიპედი (velosiṗedi), ველო (velo) (colloquial)
German: Fahrrad (de) n, Velo (de) n (Switzerland), Drahtesel (de) m (colloquial), Veloziped (de) n (dated)
Alemannic German: Welo n
Greek: ποδήλατο (el) n (podílato)
Gujarati: સાઇકલ (sāikal), પાયગાડી (pāyagāḍī)
Hausa: basukur, keke
Hebrew: אוֹפַנַּיִם (he) m pl (ofanáyim), זוּג אוֹפַנַּיִם m (zug ofanáyim)
Hiligaynon: bisikleta
Hindi: साइकिल (hi) f (sāikil), साइकल f (sāikal), पैरगाड़ी (hi) f (pairgāṛī)
Hungarian: kerékpár (hu), bicikli (hu)
Iban: basikal
Icelandic: reiðhjól (is) n
Ido: biciklo (io)
Indonesian: sepeda (id), pis (id), kereta angin (id)
Interlingua: bicyclo (ia), bicycletta
Inupiaq: paisakuq
Irish: rothar (ga) m
Isan: please add this translation if you can
Italian: bicicletta (it) f, bici (it) f (informal)
Japanese: 自転車 (ja) (じてんしゃ, jitensha), (colloquial) チャリンコ (ja) (charinko), (abbreviation) チャリ (ja) (chari)
Jarawa: taŋg
Javanese: ꦱꦼꦥꦺꦝꦃ (sepédhah), ꦥꦶꦠ꧀ (pit)
Kannada: ಸೈಕಲ್ (kn) (saikal), ಇಗ್ಗಾಲಿ (kn) (iggāli), ದ್ವಿಚಕ್ರ (dvicakra), ಕಾಲುಬಂಡಿ (kālubaṇḍi), ಕಾಲುಬಂಡಿ (kālubaṇḍi), ತುಳಿಬಂಡಿ (kn) (tuḷibaṇḍi), ಸೈಕಲ್ಲು (kn) (saikallu)
Kashubian: kòło
Kazakh: велосипед (kk) (velosiped)
Khmer: កង់ (km) (kɑng), រទេះកង់ (rɔteh kɑng), ប៊ីស៊ីក្លេត (biisiikleet), ទោចក្រយាន (km) (toocakkrɑyiən)
Kongo: dikâlu, kivyangu-vyangu
Korean: 자전거(自轉車) (ko) (jajeon'geo)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: duçerxe (ku)
Kyrgyz: велосипед (ky) (velosiped), чалынгыч (calıngıc)
Lao: ລົດຖີບ (lo) (lot thīp)
Latin: birota f
Latvian: velosipēds m, divritenis (lv) m
Lingala: nkíngá
Lithuanian: dviratis m
Low German:
Dutch Low Saxon: fietse
Lü: ᦷᦟᧆᦂᦳᧂᦵᦦᧃ (lodk̇ungk̇wen), ᦷᦟᧆᦏᦲᧇᧈ (lodṫhiib¹)
Luxembourgish: Vëlo (lb) m
Macedonian: велосипе́д m (velosipéd), точак m (točak) (colloquial), бицикла f (bicikla) (colloquial)
Malay: basikal (ms), kereta angin, sepeda (ms), pit (ms)
Malayalam: സൈക്കിൾ (ml) (saikkiḷ)
Maltese: rota (mt) f, bajsikil f, biċikletta f
Manx: daachiarkyl, daawheeyl
Maori: paihikara
Marathi: सायकल (sāykal)
Mon: ကွဳလိုန်
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: унадаг дугуй (mn) (unadag duguj)

Mongolian: ᠤᠨᠤᠳᠠᠭ
ᠳᠤᠭᠤᠢ (unudag duɣui)
Moore: kut weefo, keekee
Nahuatl: omalacatl, omemalacatl (nah)
Navajo: dziʼizí
Nepali: साइकल (sāikal)
Norman: bike f (Jersey)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: sykkel (no) m

Nynorsk: sykkel m
Occitan: bicicleta (oc) f
Odia: ସାଇକେଲ (sāikela)
Pali:
Mon Pali: စက္ကယုဂံ (cakkayugaṃ)
Pannonian Rusyn: бициґла f (bicigla)
Pashto: جولا ګاډی m (ǰolā ǧāday), بايسکل (ps) m (bāyskel), سايکل m (sykal)
Persian:
Dari: بَایْسِکِل (bāysikil), بَایْسِیکِل (bāysīkil)

Iranian Persian: دوچَرْخِه (dočarxe)
Polish: rower (pl) m
Portuguese: bicicleta (pt) f, baique (pt) f (informally)
Punjabi: ਸਾਈਕਲ (pa) (sāīkal)
Quechua: iskaymuyu, antapyu, lata wuru
Romanian: bicicletă (ro) f, biclă f (colloquial)
Romansch: velo m
Russian: велосипе́д (ru) m (velosipéd), ве́лик (ru) m (vélik) (colloquial)
Samogitian: dvėratis
Sanskrit: द्विचक्रिका (dvicakrikā)
Scottish Gaelic: baidhsagal m, rothair m, rothar dà-chuibhleach m, (colloquial) baic m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бицѝкл m

Roman: bicìkl (sh) m
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Sicilian: bicìculu m, bicicretta (scn) f, bici f
Sindhi: سائيڪل
Sinhalese: බයිසිකලය (bayisikalaya), පාපැදි (pāpædi)
Slovak: bicykel (sk) m
Slovene: kolo (sl) n
Somali: baskiil m
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: kólaso n

Upper Sorbian: koleso n
Sotho: baesekele (st)
Spanish: bicicleta (es) f, bici (es) f (informal)
Sranan Tongo: baisigri
Swahili: baisikeli class 9/10, baiskeli (sw), baiskili
Swedish: cykel (sv) c, tvåhjuling (sv) c
Tagalog: bisikleta
Tajik: дучарха (dučarxa), велосипед (velosiped), шайтонароба (šaytonaroba)
Talysh:
Anbarani: دؤچرخه (dücarxa)

Asalemi: دوچرخه (ducarxa)
Tamil: மிதிவண்டி (ta) (mitivaṇṭi)
Tatar: велосипед (welosiped)
Telugu: సైకిలు (te) (saikilu)
Thai: จักรยาน (th) (jàk-grà-yaan), รถถีบ (th) (rót-tìip)
Tibetan: རྐང་འཁོར (rkang 'khor), ལྕགས་རྟ (lcags rta)
Tigrinya: ብሽክለታ (bəškəläta)
Tok Pisin: wilwil
Tolai: aingau
Turkish: bisiklet (tr), çalınga, velespit (tr), derrace (tr), düçerha
Turkmen: welosiped
Ukrainian: велосипе́д (uk) m (velosypéd), ро́вер m (róver) (rare)
Urdu: سائِیکِل f (sāīkil), بائِیسِکَل f (bāīsikal)
Uyghur: ۋېلىسىپىت (wëlisipit)
Uzbek: velosiped (uz)
Vietnamese: xe đạp (vi) (車踏)
Volapük: saikul (vo), (obsolete) telaluib
Võro: jalgratas
Welsh: beic (cy) m, deurodur m
West Frisian: fyts (fy)
Western Panjabi: سیکل (pnb) (sekl)
Yiddish: ביציקל m (bitsikl), ראָווער m (rover), וועלאָסיפּעד m (velosiped), ביציקלעט m (bitsiklet)
Zhuang: danci

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: ^{(please verify)} cyclo- (nl) (only used in compounds), ^{(please verify)} rijwiel (nl) n (usually a bicycle)

Verb

bicycle (third-person singular simple present bicycles, present participle bicycling, simple past and past participle bicycled)

(transitive, intransitive) To travel or exercise using a bicycle.
- 1903 December 26, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC:
  “At least it cannot be your health," said he, as his keen eyes darted over her; "so ardent a bicyclist must be full of energy.” […] “Yes, I bicycle a good deal, Mr. Holmes, and that has something to do with my visit to you to-day.”
(television, historical, transitive) To physically ship (a recorded programme) to another broadcasting entity.
- 2002, Roger Phillips Smith, The Other Face of Public Television, page 56:
  “Bicycling” defeated the possibility of topicality, a prime production habit of the network-trained production executives staffing the new entity.
- 2014, Horace Newcomb, Encyclopedia of Television, page 177:
  In turn, two-inch tapes of these could be “bicycled” from one place to another across the country, thereby altering and improving production economies.