Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “motorbike” come from?

Motorbike combines English motor with English bike, which derives from English bicycle, ultimately from Latin bis and Ancient Greek κύκλος meaning circle.

motorbike (English): A motorcycle; A small and light motorcycle; To...

Definitions

  1. A motorcycle; A small and light motorcycle; To...

Ancestry of “motorbike”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbikeClipping of bicycle; Clipping of motorbike;...
2EnglishbicycleA vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the...
3Frenchbicyclebicycle
4Frenchbi-bi-
5Latinbistwice, two times, on two occasions, in two ways
6Latincolorcolour, shade; color; pigment; complexion
7Ancient Greekμέτρονsomething used to measure: measure, rule, weight;...
8Ancient Greek-τρονForms instrument nouns
9Proto-Hellenic-tronForms instrument nouns from verb stems
10Proto-Indo-European-tromForms nouns denoting a tool or instrument
11Proto-Indo-European-tḗrDerives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone...

Words derived from “motorbike”

  • motorbiker
  • motorbike
  • motor-bike
  • motopaika
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tḗr →