also moto-cross, "cross-country motorcycle racing," by 1956, from motorcycle + cross-country.
Entries linking to motocross
motorcycle n.
"a large bicycle propelled by a small motor," 1895, a hybrid from motor + -cycle, from bicycle. Motocycle also was used late 19c.
The horse follows the crooks of a country road, but then the training of the "motorcycle" (horrid name) will inevitably straighten out the crooks in the country road, and afford long ranges of straight tracks. [Payson Burleigh, "The Age of Steel," Oct. 12, 1895]
Related: Motorcyclist.
cross-country adj.
1767, of roads, "lying or directed across fields or open country," from cross- + country, or a shortening of across-country. Of flights, from 1909. As a noun, "outdoor distance running as a sport," by 1956.