Velocipede

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /vɪˈlɒs.ɪ.piːd/

Definitions

1. A type of early cycling device that is propelled by human effort through pedals and features a frame with wheels for mobility
2. An antique form of transportation characterized by a two-wheeled design operated by pedaling, often resembling a bicycle
3. A human-driven wheeled contraption from the past, usually powered by pedals connected directly to the front wheel

Etymology: The most startling thing about "velocipede" is that its name means "fast-foot," yet the early machines were notoriously slow and painful to ride. The word was borrowed from French "vélocipède," which combined Latin "velox," meaning swift, with "pes," meaning foot. The French coinage was applied to the early two-wheeled machines of the 1860s, the first vehicles that a rider propelled by pushing against the ground with his feet. Those first velocipedes had no pedals on the front wheel. Riders straddled a wooden or iron frame and pushed along with their feet, so the "foot" in the name described the actual mechanism rather than a pedal arrangement. The later pedal-driven models, which were heavier and carried a large front wheel, gave the word its later sense of an old-fashioned pedal vehicle.

Synonyms: bicycle, tricycle, cycle