peloton

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2010 is: peloton • \pel-uh-TAHN\ • noun : the main body of riders in a bicycle race Examples: "The first major splits occur in the peloton at about the 110-mile mark, where many riders find they can no longer keep up." (Michael Barry, The New York Times, September 26, 2008) Did you know? If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've seen the peloton, the brightly colored pack of riders making up the central group. You may have also gained some inadvertent insight into the word itself, which as you may have guessed is French in origin. In French, "peloton" literally means "ball," but it is most often used with the meaning "group." It's frequently used in the bicycling context, just as in English, but it can also refer to a group in a marathon or other sporting event. French "peloton" can also mean "squad" or "platoon," and since we’ve told you that you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that it is also the source of our word "platoon." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.