pedal1

 
Pronunciation: /ˈpɛd(ə)l/

noun

  • 1each of a pair of foot-operated levers used for powering a bicycle or other vehicle propelled by the legs.
  • 2a foot-operated throttle, brake, or clutch control in a motor vehicle: a brake pedal
  • 3each of a set of two or three levers on a piano, particularly (also sustaining pedal) one which, when depressed, prevents the dampers from stopping the sound when the keys are released. The second is the soft pedal; a third, if present, produces either selective sustaining or complete muffling of the tone.
  • a foot-operated lever on other musical instruments, such as an organ.
  • a foot-operated device for producing a sound effect on an electric guitar.
  • short for pedal note

verb (pedals, pedalling, pedalled; US pedals, pedaling, pedaled)

  • 1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] move by working the pedals of a bicycle: they pedalled along the canal towpath
  • [with object and adverbial of direction] move (a bicycle) by working its pedals: she was pedalling a bicycle around town
  • [no object] work the pedals of a bicycle: he was coming down the path on his bike, pedalling hard
  • 2 [no object] use the pedals of a piano, organ, etc., especially in a particular style: (as noun pedalling) Chopin gave no indications of pedalling in his manuscript

Phrases

with the pedal to the metal

North American informal at full speed (with reference to pressing the accelerator of a car to the floor): she loved careening down the highway with the pedal to the metal southern Nevada’s ethic of pedal-to-the-metal growth

Derivatives

pedaller

(US pedaler) noun

Origin:

early 17th century (denoting a foot-operated lever of an organ): from French pédale, from Italian pedale, from Latin pedalis 'a foot in length', from pes, ped- 'foot'

People often confuse the words pedal and peddle. Pedal is a noun referring to a foot-operated lever, as on a bicycle, and a verb chiefly meaning ‘move by working the pedals of a bicycle’ ( they pedalled along the road). Peddle, on the other hand, is a verb meaning ‘sell goods or promote an idea’ ( he peddled printing materials around the country she peddled a ludicrously Utopian view of the past). The related words pedlar and pedaller are also confused. A pedlar (also spelled peddler, especially in the US) is a person who goes from place to place selling goods, while a pedaller (or, in the US, a pedaler) is someone who rides a bike.