pedal

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pedal1 /ˈpɛd(ə)l/

▶noun

• 1 each of a pair of foot-operated levers for powering a bicycle or other vehicle propelled by leg power.

• 2 a foot-operated throttle, brake, or clutch control in a motor vehicle.

• 3 each of a set of two or three foot-operated levers on a piano, for sustaining or softening the tone.

  ■ a foot-operated lever on other musical instruments, such as a harp or organ.

  ■ a foot-operated device for producing a sound effect on an electric guitar.

• 4 Music short for pedal note.

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

• 1 move by working the pedals of a bicycle.

• 2 use the pedals of a piano, organ, etc.

– phrases
with the pedal to the metal N. Amer. informal at full speed.

– derivatives
pedaller (US pedaler) noun.

– origin C17: from Fr. pédale, from Ital. pedale, from L. pedalis (see pedal2).

usage: 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).

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pedal2 /ˈpɛd(ə)l, ˈpiː-/

▶adjective chiefly Medicine & Zoology relating to the foot or feet.

– origin C17: from L. pedalis, from pes, ped- ‘foot’.