tri·cy·cle (trī'sĭk'əl, -sĭ-kəl) n. A vehicle, used especially by small children, that has three wheels, one at the front and two at the back, and is usually propelled by pedals.
[French : tri-, three (from Greek tri-; see tri-) + Greek kuklos, wheel; see cycle.]
1828, "three-wheeled horse-drawn carriage," from Fr. tricycle (1827), from tri- + cycle. The pedal-powered version is first attested 1868. Short form trike (on the model of bike) is attested from 1883.