What is "motocycle"

n. (context US dated English) A horseless carriage.

[[ Horseless Carriage.jpg|thumb|

1900 Horseless carriage]] [[ Motocycle 1895.jpg|thumb|

The Lewis "Motocycle" ]] [[ B King and his car 1896.jpg|thumb|

Charles B. King's motocycle, 1896]]

Motocycle (note spelling) was the word adopted by the United States in the later part of the nineteenth century to indicate the horseless carriage, because it was short and easier to understand than the other possibilities, such as "automobile carriage", "motor carriage", "motor vehicle", or "auto carriage". It is now archaic and rarely used. Today, a four-wheeled self-powered vehicle, especially one designed to carry a small number of people, is generally known as an automobile or car. The term "motor vehicle" is currently used in legal, transportation planning and academic terminology.

1. Horseless Age: the automobile trade magazine, Volume 1, p. 34↩
2. The Motocycle magazine, November 1895, pp. 37-38↩
3. Treasury of early American automobiles, 1877-1925 by Floyd Clymer, p. 8↩
4. Sturmey, p. 67↩