bakfiets

Meaning

Noun

• A bicycle or tricycle with a long wheelbase between the front wheel and handlebars holding a large box, originally used to transport goods but now more commonly for carrying young children.

Origin

• Borrowed from Dutch bakfiets, from bak + fiets. Bak is derived from French bac, possibly from Vulgar Latin *baccu, from Latin bacar, possibly from Ancient Greek βῖκος, possibly from Egyptian bꜣkt. The etymology of fiets is uncertain; it is possibly derived from regional (southern Limburg) French vietse, possibly ultimately from vite (see further at that word).
• The plural form bakfietsen is borrowed from Dutch bakfietsen.