Whele

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A round, rotating disk fixed on an axle that allows something to move along the ground ; to make something turn around its central point
2. A circular frame that spins on a central axis to carry or drive motion ; to revolve or swing around in a curving movement
3. The rotating circular part of a vehicle or machine that rolls along a surface ; to spin or pivot about a fixed center

Etymology: Wheel and cycle are distant relatives. The Old English "hwēol," the ancestor of modern wheel, and the Greek "kyklos," meaning circle, both descend from an early Indo-European root that was formed by repeating a syllable, a pattern that gave the root its sense of turning. Greek "kyklos" went on to give English "cycle," "bicycle," and "cyclone." "Whele" is a Middle English spelling of the same word. Old English wrote the opening sound as "hw," and scribes spelled it in several ways, including "whele," "whel," and "wheel," before the modern spelling settled in over the later Middle Ages and early modern period.