English

Noun

autobicycle ‎(plural autobicycles)

1. (archaic) Motorcycle.
   • 1949, Japan Science Review: Engineering sciences:

     The engine used was an autobicycle engine (71 mm bore X 91 mm stroke, compression ratio 4.3:1) and a fuel injection system was added to drive it with cylinder injection.

   • 1961, Agriculture at the Crossroads, page 23:

     In the monocultural area, there is an "autobicycle for the heir" of a farm family as well as a "cultivator for a bride."

   • 1974, Mitsui Ginko, Mitsui Bank Monthly Review - Volumes 19-20, page 5:

     Accordingly, the advantageous and disadvantageous products due to Yen par raising have been made evident, in other words, the major competitively powerful products contributing to the expansion of overall export were autobicycle, radio, ship and automobile as well as those products increasing the exporting total amount despite the decrease of the exporting quantity such as television, connton products and plywood.

   • 2015, William I. Jones Sr., From Poverty, Through Protest, to Progress and Prosperity, ISBN 1483437361:

     The reason that I knew about the male ward was because I was in an autobicycle accident on November 30, 1939, and had a broken right thighbone (above the knee) and stayed in the hospital for two weeks.

Usage notes

This early term for a motorcycle has mostly fallen into disuse, although a remnant of this use can be found in Australia and New Zealand, where the vehicle is still called a "bicycle" (as distinguished from a manually-powered "push bicycle"). The term still appears in translations from the Japanese or Korean, where it is a calque of オートバイ ‎(ōtobai) and 오토바이 (otobai).