Etymology

motorcycle

mo·tor·cy·cle
M3O1T1O1R1C3Y4C3L1E1

Today it means: An open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three) wheels. Full definition →

English cycle ← Middle English cicle ← Late Latin cyclus
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*moweō
  4. Latinmoveō
  5. Latinmōtor
  6. Middle Englishmotour
  7. Englishmotor
  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. Middle Englishcicle
  15. Englishcycle
  16. English todaymotorcycle

From motor + cycle, from the Motorcyclette produced in 1897 by the French Werner Frères et Cie.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.