1817, of a line, "returning into itself," from cyclic + -al (1). From 1834 as "pertaining to a cycle, cyclic." In botany, "rolled up circularly;" in zoology, "recurrent in successive circles."
Entries linking to cyclical
cyclic adj.
1794, "pertaining to or moving in a cycle or circle," from French cyclique (16c.), from Latin cyclicus, from Greek kyklikos "moving in a circle," from kyklos "circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events" (see cycle (n.)). Sense of "connected to a literary cycle" is by 1822.
-al 1
suffix forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives, "of, like, related to, pertaining to," Middle English -al, -el, from French or directly from Latin -alis (see -al (2)).