Library / English Dictionary

PEDAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: pedalled    , pedalling   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A lever that is operated with the foot

Synonyms:

foot lever; foot pedal; pedal; treadle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pedal" is a kind of...):

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pedal"):

accelerator; accelerator pedal; gas; gas pedal; gun; throttle (a pedal that controls the throttle valve)

brake pedal (foot pedal that moves a piston in the master brake cylinder)

clutch; clutch pedal (a pedal or lever that engages or disengages a rotating shaft and a driving mechanism)

soft pedal (a pedal on a piano that moves the action closer to the strings and so soften the sound)

loud pedal; sustaining pedal (a pedal on a piano that lifts the dampers from the strings and so allows them to continue vibrating)

Holonyms ("pedal" is a part of...):

bicycle; bike; cycle; wheel (a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals)

automotive vehicle; motor vehicle (a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not run on rails)

organ; pipe organ (wind instrument whose sound is produced by means of pipes arranged in sets supplied with air from a bellows and controlled from a large complex musical keyboard)

Derivation:

pedal (ride a bicycle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A sustained bass note

Synonyms:

pedal; pedal point

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("pedal" is a kind of...):

musical note; note; tone (a notation representing the pitch and duration of a musical sound)

Derivation:

pedal (operate the pedals on a keyboard instrument)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to the feet

Example:

the word for a pedal extremity is 'foot'

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

vertebrate foot (the extremity of the limb in vertebrates)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Operate the pedals on a keyboard instrument

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "pedal" is one way to...):

control; operate (handle and cause to function)

"Pedal" entails doing...:

play; spiel (replay (as a melody))

Domain category:

music (musical activity (singing or whistling etc.))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

pedal (a sustained bass note)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Ride a bicycle

Synonyms:

bicycle; bike; cycle; pedal; wheel

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pedal" is one way to...):

ride (be carried or travel on or in a vehicle)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pedal"):

unicycle (ride a unicycle)

backpedal (pedal backwards on a bicycle)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

pedal (a lever that is operated with the foot)

pedaler; pedaller (a person who rides a pedal-driven vehicle (as a bicycle))

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