bike

bike · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
3. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
4. Proto-Italic*dwis
5. Old Latinduis
6. Latinbis
7. Frenchbi-
8. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-redup.
9. Proto-Indo-European*kʷékʷlos
10. Proto-Hellenic*kʷókʷlos
11. Proto-Hellenic*kúklos
12. Ancient Greekκύκλος (kúklos)
13. Late Latincyclus
14. Frenchcycle
15. Frenchbicycle
16. Englishbicycleclip.
17. English todaybike

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⟩.

bike · noun²

1. Old English · inherited from*bȳc
2. Old English · inherited frombēocere“beekeeper”
3. Middle English · inherited frombike
4. English todaybike

From Middle English bike, byke (“a nest of wild bees or wasps; also, honeycomb”), of unknown origin. Perhaps a back-formation of Middle English *bykere (“beekeeper”), from Old English bēocere (“beekeeper”); or from Old English *bȳc, a byform of Old English būc (“belly; vessel; container”). Compare also Scots byke (“beehive, anthill; home, dwelling”), Old Norse bý (“bee”).

Words from the same roots