bicycle

English Online Dictionary. What means bicycle‎? What does bicycle mean?

English

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/
• 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
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.
5. (vulgar slang, usually in compounds specifying a context) A slut; a promiscuous woman.
6. (climbing) A stabilizing technique in which one foot is pushed down while the other is pulled up.
7. (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)
• → Maltese: bajsikil
• → Papiamentu: baiskel
• → Sranan Tongo: baisigri
• → Swahili: baiskeli
• → Urdu: بائیسِکَل (bāīsikal)

Translations

Verb

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

1. (transitive, intransitive) To travel or exercise using a bicycle.
2. (television, historical, transitive) To physically ship (a recorded programme) to another broadcasting entity.

Translations

French

Alternative forms

• bécik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.sikl/

Noun

bicycle m (plural bicycles)

1. bicycle

   Synonym: bicyclette

Derived terms

• bicyclette

Descendants

• → English: bicycle
• → Polish: bicykl

Further reading

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