Bicycle fuses Latin bi- (two, PIE *dwóh₁) with Greek kyklos (circle/wheel, PIE *kwel- to revolve). Coined in 1860s France to replace vélocipède (fast-foot). The word 'two' and the prefix 'bi-' are the same PIE root, disguised by Grimm's Law. Clipped to 'bike' by 1882.
A human-powered vehicle with two wheels arranged in line, propelled by pedals and steered with handlebars.
Coined in France circa 1868 as a Franco-Greek compound: Latin 'bi-' (two, from 'bis,' twice) + Greek 'kyklos' (κύκλος, circle, wheel, cycle). Latin 'bis' descends from PIE *dwóh₁- (two), which via Grimm's Law became 'two' in English and 'zwei' in German. Greek 'kyklos' derives from PIE *kwel- (to turn, to revolve), the same root as Latin 'colere' (to cultivate, to till in circles), 'columna' (column, the turning support), English 'wheel' (from Old
Bicycle is a Franco-Greek hybrid: Latin prefix + Greek base. The word it replaced, vélocipède (fast-foot), was pure Latin. English 'two' and Latin 'bi-' are distant cousins — both from PIE *dwóh₁ — but Grimm's Law shifted *d to t in Germanic, disguising the family resemblance. 'Bike' was