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tandem

tan·dem

US/ˈtændəm/ uncommon
noun (1) adverb (1)

noun

1.

a bicycle with two sets of pedals and two seats

Synonyms

adverb

1.

one behind the other

  • “ride tandem on a bicycle built for two”
  • “riding horses down the path in tandem”

Origin

PIE word *téh₂m The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix). The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • drive Irish tandem
  • in tandem
  • riding in tandem
  • short tandem repeat
  • tandem axle
  • tandem bicycle
  • tandem cart
  • tandem engine
  • tandem gait

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.