*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cycle

From Middle English cicle (“fixed length period of years”), from Late Latin cyclus, from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”), from Proto-Hellenic *kúklos, *kʷókʷlos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To go through a cycle or to put through a cycle. · To turn power off and back on · To maintain a team's possession of the puck in the offensive zone by handling and passing the puck in a loop from the boards near the goal up the side boards and passing to back to the boards near the goal

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English cicle (“fixed length period of years”), from Late Latin cyclus, from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”), from Proto-Hellenic *kúklos, *kʷókʷlos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cyclus, kike, and wheel (see there for more).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:cicle",
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      },
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    },
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    }
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      "cicle",
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    ],
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      "cyclus",
      "cyclus#Latin"
    ],
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      "κύκλος#Ancient_Greek"
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      "*kʷékʷlos",
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    ],
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    ],
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      "cyclus",
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      "wheel",
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    ]
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        "To go through a cycle or to put through a cycle.",
        "To turn power off and back on",
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed. · A complete rotation of anything. · A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence. · The members of the sequence formed by such a process.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English cicle (“fixed length period of years”), from Late Latin cyclus, from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”), from Proto-Hellenic *kúklos, *kʷókʷlos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cyclus, kike, and wheel (see there for more).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

This page abbreviates 13 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
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        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:cicle",
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    },
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    },
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    },
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        "4": "charkha",
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        "8": "wheel"
      },
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        "borrowed"
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    }
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Source etymology 2 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A pedal-powered vehicle, such as a unicycle, bicycle, or tricycle, or a motorized vehicle that has either two or three wheels. · A bicycle.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From -cycle (in bicycle, monocycle, and tricycle), perhaps associated with etymology 1. Compare French cycle in the same sense. The verb is either from the noun or a clipping of bicycle (verb).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "sup",
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      ],
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    },
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Source etymology 2 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To ride a bicycle or other cycle.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From -cycle (in bicycle, monocycle, and tricycle), perhaps associated with etymology 1. Compare French cycle in the same sense. The verb is either from the noun or a clipping of bicycle (verb).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      },
      "expansion": "²"
    },
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      "name": "clipping",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "bicycle#Verb",
        "pos": "verb",
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    },
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cycle →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y3ljbGU