English
tricycle
Tricycle comes from French tricycle, from Late Latin cyclus ‘a circle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklos1‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλος2‘circle’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcyclus3‘a circle’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcycle4
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttricycle5
- Englishearliest quotation 1995tricycle5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin cyclus
- 3 Wiktionary, French cycle
- 4 Wiktionary, French tricycle
- 5 Wiktionary, English tricycle
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!: “[S]o I rode home on my brand new tricycle…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kʷékʷlosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kúklosWiktionary, Ancient Greek κύκλος‘circle, wheel’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκύκλοςWiktionary, Latin cyclus‘circle’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcyclusWiktionary, French cycle‘a circle’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcycleWiktionary, French tricycle
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttricycleWiktionary, English tricycle
- Englishearliest quotation 1995tricycleWiktionary, English tricycle. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!: “[S]o I rode home on my brand new tricycle…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos ‘circle, wheel’
through Proto-Hellenic *kúklos ‘circle, wheel’
through Ancient Greek κύκλος ‘circle’
kike, cyclic, cyclamen, 7 more
through French cycle
Today it means
noun A cycle with three wheels, powered by pedals and usually intended for young children.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tricycle”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek κύκλος, Latin cyclus, French cycle, French tricycle. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos / tricycle