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"bicycle" in seven languages

Meaningbicycle

Spanish

bicicleta

/biθiˈkleta/

fem.borrowed · French bicyclette

Colloquially la bici.

French

vélo

/velo/

masc.other source · short for vélocipède (Latin VELŌX 'swift' + PEDEM 'foot')

Bicyclette exists but sounds formal or old-fashioned.

Italian

bicicletta

/bitʃiˈkletta/

fem.borrowed · French bicyclette

Colloquially la bici.

Portuguese

bicicleta

/bisiˈklɛtɐ/

fem.borrowed · French bicyclette

Romanian

bicicletă

/bitʃiˈkletə/

fem.borrowed · French bicyclette

Catalan

bicicleta

/bisiˈklɛtə/

fem.borrowed · French bicyclette

English

bicycle

/ˈbaɪsɪkəl/

from Latin/French · French bicycle

English → ItalianbicyclebiciclettaCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The ancestor

Greek kýklos‘circle, wheel (French bicyclette 'little two-wheeler')’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Spanish and Italian took French bicyclette; the French themselves ride the clipped vélo, 'swift-foot'. All three shorten it in speech: bici, bici, vélo.

English relatives: bicycle, cycle; velocity, pedal (vélocipède)

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In a sentence

  • esVoy al trabajo en bici.
  • frJe vais au travail à vélo.
  • itVado al lavoro in bici.
  • ptVou trabalhar de bicicleta.
  • roMerg la serviciu cu bicicleta.
  • caVaig a treballar amb bicicleta.
  • enI go to work by bike.

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