pedal

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(pĕd'l) pronunciation
n.
    1. A foot-operated lever used for actuating or controlling a mechanism, as in a loom, sewing machine, piano, or organ.
    2. A similar foot-operated part attached to a crank and used for powering various devices, such as a bicycle.
  1. Music.
    1. A pedal point.
    2. A pedal keyboard.
adj.
  1. Of or relating to a pedal.
  2. (also pēd'l) Of or relating to a foot or footlike part: the pedal extremities.

v., -aled, or -alled, -al·ing, or -al·ling, -als, or -als.

v.intr.
  1. To use or operate a pedal or pedals.
  2. To ride a bicycle.
v.tr.
To operate the pedals of.

[French pédale, from Italian pedale, from Latin pedālis, one foot long, from pēs, ped-, foot.]



as a verb has inflected forms pedalled, pedalling in British English, but usually pedaled, pedaling in American English.

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A lever operated by the foot; pedals are variously used on musical instruments. A pedal can alter pitch, as in the harp or timpani; or it can facilitate the playing of an instrument, as in the drum-kit where it controls the bass drum and the high-hat cymbal. Its most frequent uses fall into two categories. First it may produce expressive effects, change the tone colour or the length of decay of a note (as in the left and right pedals on a piano) or its volume (as in the swell pedal on an organ); some electric instruments such as the vibraphone, guitar and synthesizer have ‘effects pedals’ of this sort. Second, it is widely used for a series of pedals arranged like a piano keyboard but played with the feet and thus termed a ‘pedalboard’; this device is most often found on the organ, where it commonly provides bass notes but has long been used for a wide range of musical purposes. Various other pedal instruments have been developed; the pedal clavichord and pedal harpsichord were mostly used as practice instruments for organists, but the pedal pianoforte was for a while taken seriously in its own right. Mozart owned one; Gounod, Alkan and Schumann all composed music for one.



Pertaining to the foot or feet.

  • p. arthritis — seen most often in cattle with septic arthritis of the distal interphalangeal joint.
    Septic pedal interphalangeal arthritis. By permission from Blowey RW, Weaver AD, Diseases and Disorders of Cattle, Mosby, 1997
  • p. bone — the distal phalanx of ungulates, especially the horse.
  • p. bone rotation — causing penetration of the sole of the horse's foot; a characteristic of severe laminitis.
  • p. fracture — fractures of the pedal bone occur most commonly in horses. They may involve a wing or extensor process. They are usually transverse in cattle.
  • p. osteitis — a rarefying osteitis of the pedal bone in the foot of the horse. Causes local pain and lameness.
Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'pedal'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to pedal, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pedal.
Distinguish from paddle and petal and the verb peddle.

The word pedal comes from the Latin (pes, Pedis) and relates to the foot.

A pedal is a lever activated by one's foot. The term "foot pedal" is redundant, and should be avoided. Examples include:

In Transport:

In Music:

  • Piano pedals
  • Pedal keyboard, on pipe and electronic organs, which contains approximately one dozen to three dozen pedals that resemble the keyboards (or "manuals"); when one of these pedals is depressed, it causes a note (or group of notes) to sound
  • Pedal harp, the modern orchestral harp with pedals used to change the tuning of its strings
  • Effects pedal, used commonly for electric guitars
  • Pedal point, a type of nonchord tone, usually in the bass
  • Pedal tone, a fundamental tone played on brass instruments

In Geometry:

  • Pedal triangle, a triangle obtained by projecting a point onto the sides of a triangle
  • Pedal curve, a curve derived by construction from a given curve

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - pedal
v. intr. - cykle
v. tr. - bruge pedalen

idioms:

  • pedal bin    pedalspand
  • pedal pushers    knælange jeans

2.
adj. - fod-

Nederlands (Dutch)
pedaal, orgelpunt, pedaal-, poot-, trappen, fietsen

Français (French)
1.
n. - pédale, accélérateur, (Mus) pédale
v. intr. - pédaler
v. tr. - appuyer sur la ou les pédale(s) de

idioms:

  • pedal bin    (GB) poubelle à pédale
  • pedal pushers    pantalon corsaire

2.
adj. - du pied/des pieds

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Fußhebel, Pedal
v. - radeln, das Pedal treten

idioms:

  • pedal bin    Treteimer
  • pedal pushers    dreiviertellange Damenhose

2.
adj. - Pedal...

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ποδόπληκτρο (κν. πεντάλ, πετάλι)
v. - ποδηλατώ, χρησιμοποιώ/κινώ/πατώ πεντάλ

idioms:

  • pedal bin    σκουπιδοντενεκές
  • pedal pushers    (απαρχ.) κοντοβράκια (ποδηλατιστών), ποδηλατιστές

Italiano (Italian)
pedalare, pedale

idioms:

  • pedal bin    pattumiera a pedale
  • pedal pushers    calzoni a mezza gamba

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pedal (m)
v. - pedalar

idioms:

  • pedal bin    lixeira com pedal
  • pedal pushers    calça três quartos

Русский (Russian)
жать на педали, педаль

idioms:

  • pedal bin    урна с педалью
  • pedal pushers    узкие брюки

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - pedal, bajo de órgano
v. intr. - pedalear
v. tr. - pedalear

idioms:

  • pedal bin    papelera o cubo de basura con pedal
  • pedal pushers    pantalones de mujer a media pierna, pantalones pescadores

2.
adj. - de pie o de pedal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - pedal, trampa
v. - använda pedal, trampa

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
踏板, 足的, 脚踏的, 踏板的, 踩踏板, 骑自行车, 踩...的踏板, 骑

idioms:

  • pedal bin    脚踏式小垃圾桶
  • pedal pushers    骑单车时所穿的长及小腿的裤子

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 踏板
adj. - 足的, 腳踏的, 踏板的
v. intr. - 踩踏板, 騎自行車
v. tr. - 踩...的踏板, 騎

idioms:

  • pedal bin    腳踏式小垃圾桶
  • pedal pushers    騎單車時所穿的長及小腿的褲子

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - (재봉틀.자전거 등의) 페달, (피아노 등의) 발판, 수족선
v. intr. - 페달을 밟다, 페달을 밟으며 가다
v. tr. - ~의 페달을 밟다

2.
adj. - 발의, 수족선의, 페달의

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 踏板, ペダル, 垂足線, 踏み板
v. - ペダルを使う, 自転車に乗る, ペダルを踏む
adj. - 足の, ペダルの

idioms:

  • pedal bin    自転車置き場
  • pedal pushers    ペダルプッシャー

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دواسه, مدوس, (فعل) يدوس,‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דוושה‬
v. intr. - ‮נע תוך דיווש‬
v. tr. - ‮דיווש‬
adj. - ‮של הרגל(ים), מופעל בדוושה‬


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