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bike

noun
/baɪk//bɐɪk/CA

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwís Proto-Italic *dwis Old Latin duis Latin bisder. French bi- Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos Ancient Greek κῠ́κλος (kŭ́klos)der. Late Latin cyclusder. Middle French French cycle French bicyclebor. English bicycleclip. English bike Clipping of bicycle. First attested in 1882. One explanation for the form with /k/ is that bicycle was parsed to bi(cy)c(le). An alternative explanation is that it was parsed to bic(ycle) but since speakers are aware of a general /k/~/s/ alternation (as in electric ~ electricity etc.), the softened /s/ was restored to a default /k/ when the “ending” -ycle was dropped. Similar cases are merc /mɜɹk/, spec /spɛk/ for mercenary, specify. It seems unlikely, however, that this process is purely phonological and not at least partially based on the spelling ⟨c⟩.

  1. inherited from *bȳc✻
  2. inherited from bēocere — “beekeeper”
  3. inherited from bike

Definitions

  1. Clipping of bicycle.

    • It's called a gravel bike, and seems to combine the advantages of both road and mountain bikes – with a similar ability to lap up the miles on tarmac as a road bike, while still being very capable off-road.
    • Some of the bikes parked outside Granite Oaks Middle School are the Class Two e-bikes the district is banning.

  2. Clipping of motorbike.

  3. Any vehicle sharing some characteristics with a bicycle or motorbike, such as pedal…

    Any vehicle sharing some characteristics with a bicycle or motorbike, such as pedal power, a handlebar, or a saddle.

    • He warmed up the engine; the bike hovered off the ground despite his weight and the extra equipment.
    • In 2017, Amsterdam banned beer bikes from the center of the Dutch city. About 6,000 locals signed a petition, calling on the council to outlaw the vehicles, referring to them as a “terrible phenomenon.”
  4. ›+ 6 more definitions

    1. Ellipsis of village bike.

    2. To ride a bike.

      • I biked so much yesterday that I'm very sore today.

    3. To travel by bike.

      • It was such a nice day I decided to bike to the store, though it's far enough I usually take my car.

    4. To transport by bicycle.

      • I biked them the letters.

    5. A hive of bees, or a nest of wasps, hornets, or ants.

      • like blue bottle flees in a blink of sunshine, […]A bonny bike there’s o’ them!
      • he stood for a minute talking to them about their job of gathering cones, and telling them a story about a tree he’d once climbed which had a wasp’s byke in it unbeknown to him.

    6. A crowd of people.

The neighborhood

Derived

antibike, aquabike, aqua bike, balance bike, bar bike, beer bike, bikable, bike-and-ride, bikeathon, bike box, bike cab, bike chain, bikefishing, bike jockey strap, bike lane, bikelash, bike-lash, bikeless, bike lift, bikelike, bike lock, bikelock, bikemaker, bike motocross, bikepacker, bikepacking, bike path, bikeporn, bike pump, biker, bike rack, bike ride, bikeroad, bikery, bikeshare, bike shed, bikeshed, bike-shedding, bike stand, bike staple · +53 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for bike. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA