[… I]f Louis Philippe would read out of our book, the French would catch the infection, transmit the mails and passengers to Rennes, and thus give them that celeripede character of which they are so fond of boasting.

Celeripede and velocipede (abbreviated often into velo), both stressed “swiftness of foot.”
The Frenchman’s claim goes back to 1816. M. Niepce was a pioneer of photography. Possibly with Sivrac’s contraption in mind, he built a machine that, because of its speed, he called a celeripede. It was a simple device consisting of two equal-sized wooden wheels connected by a bar upon which the rider sat and pushed himself forward by “walking.”

Celeripede

Meaning

Noun

Origin

Synonyms