What is the subject of the dreams and desires of every child, and sometimes an adult? Do you remember how you looked forward to your birthday present? How impatiently counted the days before the holiday, tearing the leaves off the calendar? And then, finally, it is in front of you: a bright, shiny, brand new bike! You persuade your parents to let you go immediately, without waiting for a cake and candles, and rush along the road on your new friend, catching the envious glances of peers.
It is unlikely that at that moment you were thinking about what the origin of the word "bicycle" was, and it was not necessary! Be sure to enjoy the moment!
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
Why reinvent the wheel? We ask this question, bearing in mind that we don’t have to try to come up with a solution to a problem once it has existed for a long time, it has been tested and is actively used in practice.
However, at a certain historical moment, it was necessary to invent a bicycle. The thing is that in the spring of 1815 in Indonesia there was a severe eruption of a volcano, the consequence of which was the spread of volcanic ash, which provoked the effect of a volcanic winter in 1816. The consequences of this natural phenomenon were weather disasters, floods and, of course, cattle death. Due to the decrease in the number of horses, it was necessary to come up with a new affordable vehicle.
Appearance story
There is no need to remind about what a bicycle is. Everyone is familiar with this two-wheeled mode of transport since childhood. But does everyone know the etymology of the word "bicycle" and the history of the appearance of the iron horse?
In 1817, the German Carl Dreis invented a two-wheeled design with a steering wheel and gave it the name "walking machine". But this name did not take root, and the invention began to be called the dissonant word "trolley", which is still used in the Russian language in the meaning "trolley moving on rails". The name arose in honor of the creator, whose surname was Draise. Such is the etymology of the word.
By the same time, the vehicle began to be called a bicycle a little later. Dresina and now in Russian called a cart, mechanically moved on rails. This invention was closer in design to the scooter because it lacked pedals. The modern type of transport was given by the Frenchman Pierre Lalman. In 1863, he guessed to install pedals on the front wheel. His find aroused popular enthusiasm, and soon serial production of a new transport was launched, which was given the name "bicycle".
But why did they call him that? What is the etymology of the word bicycle?
Origin of the word
As we already know, the bicycle in its usual form was invented in France. Therefore, the word from the French language came to Russia along with the subject that it denotes. The etymology of the word "bicycle" is now known for certain. It happened by adding the Latin roots of velox (fast) and pede (foot).