If the name Mike is a shortened Michael, it's also possible that bike is a shortened Bichael, and that's the proper name. The whole bicycle/bike similarity could be a coincidence.
So the proposal is that "bicycle" was replaced by something completely etymologically unrelated and that has never been productively used in English? I think that's unlikely.
It's cause there were too many Williams, Richards, and Roberts. They shortened to Will, Rick, and Rob. But there were still too many so they started substituting the first letter.
Now you have Bill, Bob, and Dick.
Those got pretty popular just on their own so now they're just common shortenings.
I'm betting on some language or accent just sort of dropping/mashing syllables together and that pronunciation just kind of catching on or getting passed along to someone else who further mangles to pronunciation until it finally ended up at bike.
Personally, as a Philadelphian, when I say "bicycle" I'm usually not fully saying 3 syllables like "bi-sih-kul" it usually comes out more like "bise-kul"
Take that a step further to maybe something like "bi-kul" and then finally onto "bike"
Words often abbreviate to their stressed syllables, and occasionally any hard sounds that aren't strictly stressed also follow through. In bicycle these are the "bi" and the hard second c.
Bi(cy)c(le)
The spelling "bike" is unambiguous* for those sounds, so it's the one that stuck.
* Well, relatively. If you're confusedly expecting, say, Greek, you might pronounce those vowels differently.
46 Comments
nocturne@slrpnk.net · 56 pts · 59d
Bike (n.)
Etymology
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 βendingβ -ycle was dropped.[1] Similar cases are merc /mΙΙΉk/, spec /spΙk/ for mercenary, specify. It seems unlikely, however, that this process is purely phonological and not at least partially based on the spelling β¨cβ©.
wiktionary
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 59d
I'd add that Wiktionary itself cites this 1976 article by Robert Hausmann.
Zamboni_Driver@lemmy.ca · 38 pts · 59d
Same way we get Mike from Micycle.
over_clox@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 59d
bitjunkie@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 59d
People do say "trike"
over_clox@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 59d
I know silly π
snooggums@piefed.world · 24 pts · 59d
Tricycle > Trike
Motorcycle > Motorbike
pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de · 8 pts · 59d
Should be Motorke
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 6 pts · 59d
I prefer the German, Motorrad.
mech@feddit.org · 3 pts · 59d
Did you mean Kraftrad?
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 3 pts · 59d
Well I do now
over_clox@lemmy.world · -1 pts · 59d
I know silly π
pmk@piefed.ca · 17 pts · 59d
If the name Mike is a shortened Michael, it's also possible that bike is a shortened Bichael, and that's the proper name. The whole bicycle/bike similarity could be a coincidence.
Buffalobuffalo@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 59d
Tell that to my buddy Micycle, the 3rd.
Maeve@kbin.earth · 8 pts · 59d
Trike?
π€¨
mech@feddit.org · 10 pts · 59d
Unicycle -> Unc
Maeve@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 59d
ππππ
Mac@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 59d
Bi cycle --> bi
cycle--> bi keUni cycle --> uni
cycle--> Eunuchxylol@leminal.space · 5 pts · 59d
Do people say bicycle like bi cycle or bi sickle
Also do they say it the same with motor cycle or motor sickle
psycotica0@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 59d
I hope I'm not missing a joke, but if you're curious in my accent (Ontario, Canada) it would basically always be "bi-sickle" and "moter-saikle"
Thank God I never got around to learning the International Phonetic Alphabet, or that might have been too easy and more useful!
xylol@leminal.space · 3 pts · 58d
I always did bi sickle and motor cycle then I thought about motorsickle and realized it sounded strange
flambonkscious@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 59d
I think I use the latter but being from NZ, I probably sound like a total degenerate ...
DeltaWingDragon@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 54d
Quadricycle > Quike
Diddlydee@feddit.uk · 11 pts · 59d
Brilliant.
My missus is terrible at spelling and she famously misspelled bicycle as bickle on a banner about 20 years ago.
I'm going to show her this.
She also couldn't' spell lettuce or sausage if her life depended on it.
Tronn4@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 59d
The ol bickle tickle
Buffalox@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 59d
Probably the same way you got pineapple from Ananas.
hakase@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 59d
So the proposal is that "bicycle" was replaced by something completely etymologically unrelated and that has never been productively used in English? I think that's unlikely.
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 59d
Eh, it's a fruit that looks like a pinecone and white people are really unimaginative when naming things sometimes. Pineapple
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 59d
I mean, how did we get "Dick" from Richard?
Or "Bill" from "William"?
hakase@lemmy.zip · 21 pts · 59d
By asking nicely and having a thicc ass.
borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 59d
Cockney rhyming slang.
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 59d
Or "Will" from"Billiam"?
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 2 pts · 59d
Bill at least has 3 of the first four letters of William. π€·ββοΈ
LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 59d
It's cause there were too many Williams, Richards, and Roberts. They shortened to Will, Rick, and Rob. But there were still too many so they started substituting the first letter.
Now you have Bill, Bob, and Dick.
Those got pretty popular just on their own so now they're just common shortenings.
toast@retrolemmy.com · 6 pts · 59d
Fully agreed, but it bothers me that you changed the order of the resulting names
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 57d
And why is there Will / William, but no Billiam for Bill?
Also: Rob / Robert, but no Bobert for Bob.
Fondots@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 58d
I'm betting on some language or accent just sort of dropping/mashing syllables together and that pronunciation just kind of catching on or getting passed along to someone else who further mangles to pronunciation until it finally ended up at bike.
Personally, as a Philadelphian, when I say "bicycle" I'm usually not fully saying 3 syllables like "bi-sih-kul" it usually comes out more like "bise-kul"
Take that a step further to maybe something like "bi-kul" and then finally onto "bike"
DudeImMacGyver@kbin.earth · 3 pts · 59d
This reminds me of the old bicycling circle jerk sub
akunohana@piefed.blahaj.zone · 3 pts · 59d
This is circumstantial or anecdotal at best, but still:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-L9uhsBLM
Kayday@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 59d
Bicycle
Bi Cycle
Bi Cyc
Bi Yc
Bike
Diddlydee@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 56d
AmidFuror@fedia.io · 2 pts · 59d
Ask the Dutch about dycicles.
Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 2 pts · 59d
People still say bicyclette here in france.
Also, apparently the chain bicyclette was invented in Bordeaux (I have no proofs whatsoever).
brax@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 59d
Motion to make Byce the plural form of Bike
palordrolap@fedia.io · 2 pts · 59d
Words often abbreviate to their stressed syllables, and occasionally any hard sounds that aren't strictly stressed also follow through. In bicycle these are the "bi" and the hard second c.
Bi(cy)c(le)
The spelling "bike" is unambiguous* for those sounds, so it's the one that stuck.
* Well, relatively. If you're confusedly expecting, say, Greek, you might pronounce those vowels differently.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works · -4 pts · 59d
If you say bicycle with a European accent, it kind of becomes clear. The cy disappears.
llamatron@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 59d
Which one?
Diddlydee@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 56d