# Origin of the term "velo?"



## stewartj76 (Jan 2, 2007)

My wife asked me "What does 'velo' mean" and I was at a loss to explain it. The best I could come up with was "It's french for bicycle," but it also seem to reference velocipede as a general term for two-wheeled vehicle.

Any more answers out there?


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## fasteddy07 (Jun 4, 2007)

vélo (vay-loh) noun, masculine
1. bike, bicycle

You are correct. French for bike.


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Latin: fast, swift, rapid.

Consider English words such as velocity.

http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/2271


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

you'll also note that "velocipede" contains "ped" the root for "foot"

the earliest bicycles did not have pedals. they were basically big hobby horses that didn't even have steering. but, since they had wheels, there were faster than walking and almost as fast as a horse. hence, velocity.

and since they were propelled by scooting your foot along the ground, you had to have fast feet.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

As Creaky said, the original term is "velocipede", though I think the idea was not so much that you need fast feet, but that the device enabled you to go fast (faster than running) using only your feet for propulsion. It was a "fast foot machine." The earliest practical ones did have a steerable front fork -- in fact, that was the crucial innovation, by a German named Georg von Drais around 1815. The name "draisine" didn't stick. The name "velocipede" did, even when pedal drives and other innovations came along, because the later machines were still foot-powered speed machines, even though you didn't push on the ground with your feet anymore.

Credit to David Herlihy's excellent book.


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## Cory (Jan 29, 2004)

My favorite bike shop name: Velo City in San Francisco.


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## merckx_rider (Aug 20, 2008)

Velo news


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## acsomec (Jan 29, 2008)

Actually, I think the word "velo" is context specific.

In the cycling world "velo" is most likely associated with the French word for bike.
In the medical world "velo" is most likely associated with the "Velo refers to abnormalities of the soft palate (called the velum)" Check VCFS.
In the zoological world "velo" most likely is associated with the Latin for swift, rapid--like the velociraptor.


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