pica

See also: Pica, PICA, picá, piča, píča, piça, pică, and picā

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌɪkə/
• (US) enPR: pīkə, IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪkə/
• Rhymes: -aɪkə

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin pīca (“magpie, jay”) (from the idea that magpies will eat almost anything).

Noun

pica (usually uncountable, plural picas)

1. (pathology) A disorder characterized by craving and appetite for non-edible substances, such as ice, clay, chalk, dirt, or sand.
   • 1986, George S Baroff, Mental retardation: nature, cause, and management:

     The three most common nonfood picas were eating of strings and rags; feces, vomit, and urine; and paper, cigarettes, and soil.

   Synonyms: allotriophagy, chthonophagia, cittosis, geophagy

Translations

disorder

• Catalan: pica (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 異食癖／异食癖 (zh) (yìshípǐ), 异食癖 (zh) (yìshípǐ)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: pica-oireyhtymä
• Icelandic: átvilla f, óætisfíkn f
• Russian: пика́ (ru) (piká)
• Spanish: pica (es) f

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin pica (“pica: a service book”), possibly from Latin pīca (“magpie”) after the piebald appearance of the typeset page (cf. pie (“disordered type”)). The relation to the printer's measure is unclear, as no edition of the text in pica type is known. The French pica derives from English rather than vice versa.

Noun

pica (countable and uncountable, plural picas)

1. (typography, printing, uncountable) A size of type between small pica and English, standardized as 12-point.
2. (typography, uncountable, usually with qualifier) A font of this size.
3. (typography, countable) A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in.
4. (uncommon, ecclesiastical) A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars.

Derived terms

• double pica, two-line pica
• double small pica
• pica point
• small pica

 

Translations

12 Didot-point type — see cicero

See also

• cicero
• em
• en
• point

Etymology 3

Noun

pica (plural picas)

1. Archaic form of pika. (small lagomorph)
   • 1895, Richard Lydekker, The Royal Natural History (volume 3, page 190)

     Most travellers in the Himalaya are familiar with the pretty little Rodents, known as picas, tailless hares, or mouse-hares, which may be seen in the higher regions […]

Etymology 4

From Latin

Noun

pica (plural picas)

1. A magpie.

Anagrams

• ACPI, apic, capi, paci

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈpi.kə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈpi.ka]

Etymology 1

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. bowl
2. sink

Etymology 2

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. pike (weapon)
2. spade (playing card)

Etymology 3

Noun

pica f (uncountable)

1. pica (disorder characterized by craving and appetite for non-edible substances)

Etymology 4

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. peak, summit

   Synonyms: pic, cim, cima

Etymology 5

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. pika (small, furry mammal)

Further reading

• “pica” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Galician

Noun

pica m (plural picas)

1. pipit
2. (card games) spade (a playing card of the suit spades, picas)

Verb

pica

1. third-person singular present indicative of comer
2. second-person singular imperative of comer

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Latin

Alternative forms

• peca

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker; magpie”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpiː.ka/, [ˈpiːkä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.ka/, [ˈpiːkä]

Noun

pīca f (genitive pīcae); first declension

1. magpie

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pīca	pīcae
Genitive	pīcae	pīcārum
Dative	pīcae	pīcīs
Accusative	pīcam	pīcās
Ablative	pīcā	pīcīs
Vocative	pīca	pīcae

Descendants

• Asturian: pega
• Catalan: pica
• → English: magpie, → English: pie, → English: piebald, → English: pica
• Esperanto: pigo
• Galician: pega
• French: pie
• Ido: pigo
• → Irish: píoca
• Italian: pica

• Norman: pie, piêté
• Portuguese: pega
• Spanish: pega
• Sicilian: pica

References

• “pica”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pica”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pica in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

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Latvian

pica

Noun

pica f (4th declension)

1. pizza

Declension

Declension of pica (4th declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	pica	picas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	picu	picas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	picas	picu
dative (datīvs)	picai	picām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	picu	picām
locative (lokatīvs)	picā	picās
vocative (vokatīvs)	pica	picas

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Old Polish

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *piťa.

Noun

pica f

1. fodder, forage

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Portuguese

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (slang) dick; prick; penis
2. (Portugal) jab (medical injection)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

pica

1. Template:pt-verb-form-of

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English pic.

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (Internet slang) pic (short for picture, meaning image)

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Romanian

Etymology

From pic. Compare also Aromanian chicu, chicare.

Verb

a pica (third-person singular present pică, past participle picat) 1st conj.

1. (of a liquid) to drip

   Synonym: picura

2. (literally and figuratively) to fall

   Synonym: cădea

3. to fail
4. to come unexpectedly

Conjugation

    conjugation of pica (first conjugation, no infix)

infinitive			a pica
gerund			picând
past participle			picat
number		singular			plural
person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	pic	pici	pică	picăm	picați	pică
	imperfect	picam	picai	pica	picam	picați	picau
	simple perfect	picai	picași	pică	picarăm	picarăți	picară
	pluperfect	picasem	picaseși	picase	picaserăm	picaserăți	picaseră
subjunctive		eu	tu	el/ea	noi	voi	ei/ele
	present	să pic	să pici	să pice	să picăm	să picați	să pice
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		pică			picați
	negative		nu pica			nu picați

Derived terms

• picătură

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Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Hypocoristic form derived from pízda (“cunt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pǐːtsa/
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca

Noun

píca f (Cyrillic spelling пи́ца)

1. (vulgar, hypocoristic) cunt, pussy

Declension

Declension of pica

	singular	plural
nominative	pica	pice
genitive	pice	pica
dative	pici	picama
accusative	picu	pice
vocative	pico	pice
locative	pici	picama
instrumental	picom	picama

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Italian pizza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pîtsa/
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca

Noun

pȉca f (Cyrillic spelling пи̏ца)

1. pizza

Declension

Declension of pica

	singular	plural
nominative	pica	pice
genitive	pice	pica
dative	pici	picama
accusative	picu	pice
vocative	pico	pice
locative	pici	picama
instrumental	picom	picama

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Slovene

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pizza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pìːt͡sa/, /píːt͡sa/

Noun

pīca f

1. pizza

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	píca
gen. sing.	píce
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	píca	píci	píce
genitive (rodȋlnik)	píce	píc	píc
dative (dajȃlnik)	píci	pícama	pícam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	píco	píci	píce
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	píci	pícah	pícah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	píco	pícama	pícami

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpika/ [ˈpi.ka]

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. pike, lance
2. pick (digging tool)
3. (card games) spade (a playing card of the suit spades, picas)

Derived terms

• sacar picas

Verb

pica

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of picar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of picar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of picar.