# bicycle
## 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: /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/
** Audio (US):(file)
** Audio (UK):(file)
** Audio (General Australian):(file)
* (Canada, idle-idol split) IPA: /ˈbʌɪsɪkəl/
* (Indic, spelling pronunciation) IPA: /ˈbaɪˌsaɪkəl/
* 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.
* (by extension, sometimes proscribed) Any similar vehicle powered by human pedaling or steered with a handlebar, regardless of the number of wheels.
** 1980, United States. National Park Service, Trends, page 40:The small, three-wheeled bicycle-type vehicle is probably the lowest-cost set of wheels for routine, in-park patrol use.
* 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

* antibicycle
* autobicycle
* a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle, a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
* balance bicycle
* bicyclable
* bicycle bridge
* bicycle carrier
* bicycle clip
* bicycle crunch
* bicycle gear
* bicycle helmet
* bicycle Irish
* bicycle kick
* bicycle landing gear
* bicycle lane
* bicyclelike
* bicycle mail
* bicycle monarchy
* bicycle motocross
* bicycle path
* bicycle pump
* bicycler
* bicycle rack
* bicycle roundabout
* bicycle shorts
* bicycle stand
* bicycle tire
* bicycle touring
* bicycle tourist
* bicycle wrench
* bicyclian
* bicyclism
* bicyclist
* cargo bicycle
* Christ on a bicycle
* e-bicycle
* electric bicycle
* exercise bicycle
* exercycle
* fandom bicycle
* fixed-gear bicycle
* freight bicycle
* ghost bicycle
* gravel bicycle
* like riding a bicycle
* lowrider bicycle
* motorbicycle
* mountain bicycle
* recumbent bicycle
* ride the cotton bicycle
* road bicycle
* safety bicycle
* stationary bicycle
* tandem bicycle
* touring bicycle
* town bicycle
* village bicycle
* water bicycle

#### Related terms

* cycle
* motorcycle
* tricycle
* unicycle

#### 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)
* → Welsh: beisicl

#### Translations

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

### Verb

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

#### Translations
## French
### Alternative forms

* bécik

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bi.sikl/
* Audio (Canada):(file)

### Noun

bicycle m (plural bicycles)
* 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.