PEDAL


Meaning of PEDAL in English

I. ˈped ə l noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle French pedale, from Italian, organ pedal, tree trunk, plant stem, from Latin pedalis of the foot

1. : a lever acted on by the foot in the playing of musical instruments: as

a.

(1) : any of the keys of an organ keyboard played upon with the feet ; broadly : pedal keyboard

(2) : a foot lever for drawing or shutting off one or more organ stops, for opening or shutting the swell box, or for coupling two keyboards

b. : one of the foot levers functioning as stops on a harpsichord

c.

(1) : any of the levers used to alter the quality of or to sustain the tone of a piano

(2) : any of the keys of a pedalier

d. : one of the seven foot levers by which the strings of a harp are stopped to raise their pitch either one or two half steps — see harp illustration

e. : a foot lever or treadle used to pump the bellows of a reed organ

f.

(1) : a foot lever used to change the pitch of a kettledrum quickly

(2) : a foot lever used to beat a bass drum in a jazz orchestra

2. : pedal point

3. : a foot lever or treadle by which a part is activated in a mechanism (as a bicycle, loom, or sewing machine) — see bicycle illustration, hydraulic brake illustration

4.

[Italian pedale ]

or pedal straw

a. : the light straw from the lower portion of wheat stalks

b. : a plait made of this straw and used especially for millinery

II. “, ˈpēd ə l adjective

Etymology: Latin pedalis, from ped-, pes foot + -alis -al — more at foot

1. : of or relating to the foot

2. : of, relating to, or involving a pedal

III. ˈped ə l verb

( pedaled also pedalled ; pedaled also pedalled ; pedaling also pedalling -d(ə)liŋ ; pedals )

Etymology: pedal (I)

intransitive verb

1. : to use or work a pedal (as of an organ, piano, or bicyle)

complimenting a pianist upon the accuracy of his … pedaling — Dudley Fitts

2. : to ride a bicycle : cycle 2

pedaled off … to summon a mason — Ida Treat

transitive verb

: to work the pedals of

pedaling a bicycle

pedals the garbage can — Herbert Gold

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.