cycloid
/ˈsaɪklɔɪd/noun, adjective
cycloid is a noun meaning “The locus of a point on the circumference of a circle that rolls without slipping on a fixed straight line” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled C-Y-C-L-O-I-D, and it appears about once in every 19 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of cycloid is cycloids.
What does cycloid mean?
noun
- 1
The locus of a point on the circumference of a circle that rolls without slipping on a fixed straight line.
- 2
A fish having cycloid scales.
adjective
- 1
Resembling a circle; cycloidal.
- 2
Thin and rounded, with smooth edges.
- 3
characterized by alternating high and low moods.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce cycloid?
- /ˈsaɪklɔɪd/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cycloid.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cycloid
- cycloids plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is cycloid?
Cycloid appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Cycloid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cycloïde , cycloïdal |
| German | Zykloide, Radlaufkurve |
| Portuguese | cicloide |
| Spanish | cicloide , cicloidal, cicloideo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cycloid come from?
From cyclo- + -oid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).