bicycle

English

A bicycle

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɪsɪkl̩/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (UK):

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• Audio (AU):

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• Hyphenation: bi‧cy‧cle

Noun

bicycle (plural bicycles)

1. 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.

2. A traveling block used on a cable in skidding logs.
3. The best possible hand in lowball.
4. (British, Australia, New Zealand) A motorbike.

Derived terms

• antibicycle
• autobicycle
• a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
• balance bicycle
• bicycle bridge
• bicycle clip
• bicycle helmet
• bicycle kick
• bicycle lane
• bicyclelike
• bicycle mail
• bicycle motocross
• bicycle path
• bicycle pump
• bicycler
• bicycle rack
• bicycle roundabout
• bicycle stand
• bicycle tire
• bicycle touring
• bicycle tourist
• bicyclian
• bicyclism
• bicyclist
• exercise bicycle
• fixed-gear bicycle
• like riding a bicycle
• lowrider bicycle
• motorbicycle
• recumbent bicycle
• ride the cotton bicycle
• safety bicycle
• stationary bicycle
• tandem bicycle
• town bicycle
• village bicycle
• water bicycle

 

Related terms

• cycle
• motorcycle
• tricycle
• unicycle

 

Descendants

• → Burmese: ဘိုင်စကယ် (bhuingca.kai)
• → Papiamentu: baiskel
• Sranan Tongo: baisigri

Translations

vehicle

• Afrikaans: fiets (af)
• Albanian: biçikletë (sq) f
• Amharic: ብስክሌት (bəskəlet)
• Arabic: دَرَّاجَة (ar) f (darrāja)

  Egyptian Arabic: عجلة f (ʿagala), بسكلتة f (beskleta)

  Hijazi Arabic: بسكليتة f (buskulēta)

  Moroccan Arabic: بشكليطة (bišklīṭa), بشكليطة (bšaklīṭa)

• Armenian: հեծանիվ (hy) (hecaniv)
• Asturian: bicicleta f
• Azerbaijani: velosiped (az), dırığın (dialectal)
• Basque: txirrindu (eu), bizikleta (eu)
• Belarusian: ро́вар m (róvar), веласіпе́д m (vjelasipjéd)
• Bengali: বাইসাইকেল (baiśaikel), সাইকেল (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)
• Catalan: bicicleta (ca) f
• Central Dusun: bosikol
• Central Melanau: basikal
• Cheyenne: amo'a'óvâhtsestôtse
• Chichewa: njinga
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 單車／单车 (daan¹ ce¹), 单车 (daan¹ ce¹), 腳車／脚车 (goek³ ce¹), 脚车 (goek³ ce¹), 自行車／自行车 (zi⁶ hang⁴ ce¹), 自行车 (zi⁶ hang⁴ ce¹), 腳踏車／脚踏车 (goek³ daap⁶ ce¹), 脚踏车 (goek³ daap⁶ ce¹)

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

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

  Min Bei: 跤踏車／跤踏车 (káu-dā-chiá), 跤踏车 (káu-dā-chiá)

  Min Dong: 跤踏車／跤踏车 (kă-dăk-chiă), 跤踏车 (kă-dăk-chiă)

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

  Wu: 腳踏車／脚踏车, 脚踏车 (jiaq daq tsho), 自行車／自行车 (⁶zy-yin-tsho), 自行车 (zr hhin tsho)

• Cornish: deuros, dewros f
• Czech: kolo (cs) n, jizdní kolo n, bicykl (cs) m
• Danish: cykel (da) c
• Dutch: fiets (nl) m, rijwiel (nl) n (usually a bicycle)
• Erzya: кавточары (kavtočari)
• Esperanto: biciklo (eo)
• Estonian: jalgratas (et), ratas (colloquial)
• Ewe: gasɔ
• Faroese: súkkla (fo) f
• Finnish: polkupyörä (fi)
• 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), colloquial: Drahtesel (de) m, Veloziped (de) n (dated)

  Alemannic German: Welo n

• Greek: ποδήλατο (el) n (podílato)
• Gujarati: સાઇકલ (sāikal), પાયગાડી (pāyagāḍī)
• Hausa: basukur
• Hebrew: אוֹפַנַּיִם (he) m pl (ofanáyim), זוּג אוֹפַנַּיִם m (zug ofanáyim)
• Hiligaynon: bisikleta
• Hindi: साइकिल (hi) f (sāikil), साइकल f (sāikal)
• Hungarian: kerékpár (hu), bicikli (hu)
• Iban: basikal
• Icelandic: reiðhjól (is) n
• Ido: biciklo (io)
• Indonesian: sepeda (id)
• Interlingue:
• 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 (charinko), (abbreviation) チャリ (chari)
• 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 (ko) (jajeon'geo) (自轉車)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kurdish:

  Kurmanji: duçerxe (ku)

• Kyrgyz: велосипед (ky) (velosiped)
• 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

• Luxembourgish: Vëlo (lb) m
• Lü: ᦷᦟᧆᦂᦳᧂᦵᦦᧃ (lot kuŋ kwen), ᦷᦟᧆᦏᦲᧇᧈ (lot tʰiip)
• Macedonian: велосипе́д m (velosipéd), (colloquial) точак m (točak)
• Malay: basikal (ms), kereta angin, sepeda, pit
• Malayalam: സൈക്കിൾ (ml) (saikkiḷ)
• Maltese: rota (mt)
• Manx: daachiarkyl, daawheeyl
• Maori: paihikara
• Marathi: सायकल (saykal)
• Mongolian: унадаг дугуй (mn) (unadag duguj)
• Nahuatl: omalacatl, omemalacatl (nah)
• Navajo: dziʼizí
• Nepali: साइकल (sāikal)
• Norman: bike f (Jersey)
• Norwegian: sykkel (no) m
• Oriya: ସାଇକେଲ (sāikela)
• Pashto: جولا ګاډی m (ǰolã ǧāday), بايسکل (ps) m (bāyskél), سايکل m (sykál)
• Persian: دوچرخه (fa) (do-čarxe)
• Polish: rower (pl) m
• Portuguese: bicicleta (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਸਾਈਕਲ (pa) (sāīkal)
• Quechua: iskaymuyu, antapyu, lata wuru
• Romanian: bicicletă (ro) f
• Romansch: velo m
• Russian: велосипе́д (ru) m (velosipéd), ве́лик (ru) m (vélik) (colloquial)
• Samogitian: dvėratis
• Scottish Gaelic: baidhsagal m, rothair m, rothar dà-chuibhleach m, (colloquial) baic m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: бицикл m

  Roman: bicikl (sh) m

• Shan: please add this translation if you can
• 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)
• Swahili: baisikeli class 9/10, baiskeli (sw), baiskili
• Swedish: cykel (sv) c, tvåhjuling (sv) c
• Tagalog: bisikleta
• Tajik: дучарха (dučarxa)
• 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)
• Tolai: aingau
• Turkish: bisiklet (tr)
• Turkmen: welosiped
• Ukrainian: велосипе́д (uk) m (velosypéd)
• Urdu: سائیکل f (sā'ikil), بائیسکل f (bā'īsikal)
• 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

1. (intransitive) To travel or exercise using a bicycle.

Translations

to ride a bicycle

• Dutch: fietsen (nl), wielrennen (nl) (sport)
• Esperanto: bicikli (eo)
• French: faire du vélo, faire de la bicyclette, rouler à vélo
• Galician: andar en bicicleta
• German: Rad fahren (de), (colloquial) radeln (de)
• Greek: ποδηλατώ (el) (podilató)
• Icelandic: hjóla (is)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: biciklagar (io)
• Indonesian: bersepeda (id)
• Malay: berbasikal
• Swedish: cykla (sv)
• Vietnamese: đạp xe
• Volapük: saikulön (vo)
• Westrobothnian: ,
• Yiddish: ביציקלירן (bitsiklirn)

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French

Alternative forms

• bécik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.sikl/

Noun

bicycle m (plural bicycles)

1. bicycle

   Synonym: bicyclette

Derived terms

• bicyclette

Descendants

• → English: bicycle

Further reading

• “bicycle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.