pica

See also: Appendix:Variations of "pica"

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪkə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: pīkə, IPA^(key): /ˈpaɪkə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪkə

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”).

• (pathology): From the idea that magpies will eat almost anything.

Noun

pica (countable and uncountable, plural picas)

2. (pathology, usually uncountable) A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.

   Synonyms: allotriophagy, chthonophagia, cittosis, geophagy, (obsolete, rare) pique

   • 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.

3. (countable) A magpie.

Translations

disorder

• Catalan: pica (ca) f
• Chinese:

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

• Finnish: pica-oireyhtymä
• Icelandic: átvilla f, óætisfíkn f
• Russian: пика́ (ru) (piká)
• Spanish: pica (es) f
• Turkish: pika (tr)
• Ukrainian: спотво́рення сма́ку n (spotvórennja smáku)

magpie — see magpie

Further reading

• pica (disorder) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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, now standardized as 12-point.
   • 1790, James Boswell, edited by Danziger & Brady, Boswell: The Great Biographer, Yale, published 1989, page 30:

     I had been at Baldwin's before dinner in consequence of a letter from him which showed me that, by using a pica instead of an English letter in printing my book, I might comprise it within such a number of sheets as a guinea-volume should contain […] .

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.

   Coordinate terms: cicero, em, en, point

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 stick
• small pica
• two-line double pica

Translations

12 Didot-point type — see cicero

Further reading

• pica (typography) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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 […]

Anagrams

• ACPI, APIC, apic, capi, paci

Catalan

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Latin pīla (“mortar”), with an unexplained change from /l/ to /k/. Compare Spanish pila (“sink, font”).

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. bowl

   pica beneitera ― holy water font

2. sink

   Synonym: lavabo

   • 2006, Sergi Pàmies, “Com dues gotes d'aigua”, in Si menges una llimona sense fer ganyotes [If you eat a lemon without making a face]:

     Quan neix, la gota encara no sap que d'aquí a dos segons s'esclafarà contra la pica de la cuina.

     When it's born, the droplet doesn't yet know that in two seconds it will smash against the kitchen sink.

Derived terms

• de mica en mica s'omple la pica (“every little helps, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, proverb, literally “little by little the sink fills up”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish pica (“pike”).

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. (weaponry) pike
2. (card games) spade

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“magpie”).

Noun

pica f (uncountable)

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

Etymology 4

Deverbal from picar.

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. peak, summit

   Synonyms: pic, cim, cima

Etymology 5

Borrowed from French pika, from an Evenki word.

Noun

pica f (plural piques)

1. pika (small, furry mammal)

Etymology 6

Verb

pica

1. inflection of picar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “pica”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
• “pica” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Noun

pica m (plural picas)

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

Verb

pica

1. inflection of picar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.ka/
• Rhymes: -ika
• Hyphenation: pì‧ca

Noun

pica f (plural piche)

1. magpie
2. picacismo

Anagrams

• capi, capì, paci

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *peikā, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker; magpie”), whence also Latin pīcus (“woodpecker”).

Romance forms in -e- might reflect a different etymon, such as the Umbrian peico (acc.sg.), where the product of /ei/'s monophthongisation coincided with the latin /ē/. Cognate to Sanskrit पिक (piká, “cuckoo”), German Specht (“woodpecker”), Swedish spett (“crowbar, skewer; kind of woodpecker”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpiː.ka]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈpiː.ka]

Noun

pīca f (genitive pīcae); first declension

1. magpie

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	pīca	pīcae
genitive	pīcae	pīcārum
dative	pīcae	pīcīs
accusative	pīcam	pīcās
ablative	pīcā	pīcīs
vocative	pīca	pīcae

Related terms

• pīcus

Descendants

• Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italian: pica
  • Sicilian: pica
• Occitano-Romance
  • Catalan: piga (“freckle”)
  • Occitan: piga
  • ⇒ Occitan: pigal, pigalha (“freckle”), pigasat (“pied, spotted, variegated”)
• Old French: pie (see there for further descendants)
• Sardinian: piga (Logudorian)
• West Iberian
  • ⇒ Spanish: picaza (crossed with Germanic *agattjā (“magpie”))
• Vulgar Latin: *pēca (dialectal or from Sabellic)
  • Asturian: pega
  • Galician: pega
  • Portuguese: pega
  • Spanish: pega
• → Basque: mika, pika
• → Breton: pig
• → Catalan: pica
• → English: pica
  • → Irish: píoca
• → Romanian: pica

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “pīca”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 8: Patavia–Pix, page 420

Further reading

• “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)

Latvian

pica

Etymology

From Italian pizza.

Noun

pica f (4th declension)

1. pizza

Declension

Declension of pica (4th declension)

	singular	plural
nominative	pica	picas
genitive	picas	picu
dative	picai	picām
accusative	picu	picas
instrumental	picu	picām
locative	picā	picās
vocative	pica	picas

Lithuanian

pica

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pizza. Compare Latvian pica, Belarusian and Ukrainian пі́ца (píca), Russian пи́цца (pícca).

Noun

picà f (plural picos) stress pattern 2

1. pizza

Declension

Declension of picà

	singular (vienaskaita)	plural (daugiskaita)
nominative (vardininkas)	picà	pi̇̀cos
genitive (kilmininkas)	pi̇̀cos	pi̇̀cų
dative (naudininkas)	pi̇̀cai	pi̇̀coms
accusative (galininkas)	pi̇̀cą	picàs
instrumental (įnagininkas)	picà	pi̇̀comis
locative (vietininkas)	pi̇̀coje	pi̇̀cose
vocative (šauksmininkas)	pi̇̀ca	pi̇̀cos

Related terms

• picerija (“pizzeria”)

References

• “pica”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2025

Old Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /pʲit͡sa/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /pʲit͡sa/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *piťa.

Noun

pica f

1. (attested in Greater Poland) fodder, food, nourishment
   • 1890 [End of the 15th century], Bolesław Erzepki, editor, Szczątki dawnej polszczyzny‎^[1], Mogilno, page 182:

     Alimentum piczą vel pocarm

     [Alimentum pica vel pokarm]

2. (attested in Greater Poland) Confusion of Latin armentum (“draft animal”) for Latin alimentum (“food, nourishment”) or Latin frūmentum (“grain”).
   • 1916 [second half of the 15th century], Stanisław Słoński, editor, Psałterz puławski‎^[2], Greater Poland, page Hab 29:

     Nye będze pycze w yaszlyech (non erit armentum in praesaepibus Hab 3, 17)

     [Nie będzie pice w jaślech (non erit armentum in praesaepibus Hab 3, 17)]

3. (attested in Masovia) Type of tribute; free food supply donated to an army.
   • 1863 [1447], Jan Tadeusz Lubomirski, editor, Kodeks dyplomatyczny księstwa mazowieckiego‎^[3], Masovia, page 213:

     Ab eisdem serviciis, videlicet portacione pabulorum al. pycza, a coquina... absoluimus et liberamus

     [Ab eisdem serviciis, videlicet portacione pabulorum al. pica, a coquina... absoluimus et liberamus]

Derived terms

verb

• picować impf

Descendants

• Polish: (obsolete) pica (“fodder”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic.

Noun

pica f

1. (attested in Lesser Poland) vulva
   • 1874-1891 [1447], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności‎^{[4], [5], [6]}, volume XXII, Lublin, page 55:

     Pi[s]cza

     [Pi[s]ca]

Descendants

• Polish: pica (“cunt”)

Further reading

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “1. pica”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “2. pica”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.t͡sa/
• Rhymes: -it͡sa
• Syllabification: pi‧ca

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish pica (“fodder”).

Noun

pica f

1. (obsolete) fodder, forage

   Synonyms: furaż, pasza

Declension

Declension of pica

	singular	plural
nominative	pica	pice
genitive	picy	pic
dative	picy	picom
accusative	picę	pice
instrumental	picą	picami
locative	picy	picach
vocative	pico	pice

Derived terms

noun

• picownik

verb

• picować

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Polish pica (“vulva”).

Noun

pica f (diminutive piczka)

1. (vulgar) cunt, pussy (female genitalia)

   Synonyms: cipa, pizda, psiocha

Declension

Declension of pica

	singular	plural
nominative	pica	pice
genitive	picy	pic
dative	picy	picom
accusative	picę	pice
instrumental	picą	picami
locative	picy	picach
vocative	pico	pice

Further reading

• pica in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• M. Arcta Słownik Staropolski/Pica on the Polish Wikisource.Wikisource ^pl

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.kɐ/

• Rhymes: -ikɐ
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca

Etymology 1

Deverbal from picar.

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (Portugal) act of mincing
2. (historical, rare) pike (long spear)

   Synonym: pique

3. (Brazil, colloquial, vulgar) dick; prick; penis

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pénis

4. (Portugal, childish) jab (medical injection)

   Synonym: injeção

5. (Portugal, colloquial) energy; power

   Já estou com a pica toda. ― I'm full of energy.

6. (Portugal, colloquial) enthusiasm, will

   Synonym: pique

   Falta-me pica para continuar o projeto ― I'm lacking enthusiasm to continue with the project.

Derived terms

• picão

Noun

pica m (plural picas)

1. (Portugal, informal) ticket inspector

   Synonym: revisor

2. (Portugal, slang) joint (marijuana cigarette)

Adjective

pica m or f (plural picas)

1. (Southeast Brazil, vulgar) awesome; amazing; cool

Derived terms

• ser pica

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin pīca

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (pathology) pica

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English pica, ultimately from Latin pīca.

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (typography, printing, rare) pica

   Synonym: paica

Etymology 4

From pico (“tip”).

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (Portugal) dace; chub (fish of the genus Leuciscus)

   Synonyms: escalo, robalinho

2. (Portugal) atherine (fish of the genus Atherina)

   Synonym: peixe-rei

Etymology 5

Borrowed from French pika.

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. pika (mammal of the family Ochotonidae)

Etymology 6

Borrowed from English pic.

Noun

pica f (plural picas)

1. (Brazil, Internet slang, 4chan slang, humorous) pic (short for picture, meaning image) (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Etymology 7

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

pica

1. inflection of picar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “pica”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “pica” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “pica”, in Dicio – Dicionário Online de Português (in Portuguese), Porto: 7Graus, 2009–2025
• “pica”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “pica”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “pica”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “pica”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology 1

From pic, as a word originally in reference to drops of liquid. Compare also Aromanian chicu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piˈka/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) to fall

   Synonym: cădea

2. (intransitive, of systems or connections) to fail, have downtime, be interrupted
3. (transitive) to fail an exam

   Antonyms: promova, (informal) lua

4. (transitive, informal) to fail a student
5. (intransitive, informal, of examination topics) to be drawn from a list and assigned, whether individually or collectively

   În fiecare an, liceenii se întreabă ce le va pica la bacalaureatul de română. Toți speră că va pica un subiect ușor, cum ar fi basmul sau nuvela.

   Each year, high schoolers wonder what they’ll get for the Romanian language baccalaureate. They all hope to get an easy subject, such as the folk tale or the short story.

6. (intransitive) to fall on a date

   Synonym: cădea

7. (intransitive, informal, now uncommon, of people) to come by, appear, show up

   Synonyms: apărea, își face apariția, se ivi

8. (intransitive, informal, of things) to fall into one’s hands, fall into one’s lap [with dative]
9. (transitive, archaic) to have drops of liquid fall on something or someone
10. (transitive, obsolete) to drip a liquid
11. (transitive or reflexive, obsolete or regional) to stain something, respectively oneself
12. (transitive, regional, uncommon) to hit (in aggression, with a blunt object)

Usage notes

While not an absolutely informal word, in cases of synonymy pica still is somewhat informal relative to cădea.

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

• frumos de pică
• pica bine
• pica prost
• pica rău
• pică pară mălăiață în gura lui nătăfleață
• picătură
• nici să-l pici cu ceară

Etymology 2

Borrowed from French piquer.

Verb

a pica (third-person singular present pichează, past participle picat) 1st conjugation

1. (intransitive, aviation) to dive

Conjugation

    conjugation of pica (first conjugation, -ez- 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	pichez	pichezi	pichează	picăm	picați	pichează
	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 pichez	să pichezi	să picheze	să picăm	să picați	să picheze
imperative		—	tu	—	—	voi	—
	affirmative		pichează			picați
	negative		nu pica			nu picați

Derived terms

• picaj

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin pīca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpi.ka/
• Rhymes: -ika
• Hyphenation: pi‧ca

Noun

pica f (uncountable)

1. pica

Declension

Declension of pica

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	pica	pica
genitive-dative	pica	pica
vocative

Etymology 4

Noun

pica

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of pică

References

• “pica”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025
• Iorgu Iordan, Alexandru Graur, Ion Coteanu, editors (1974), “picá¹”, in Dicționarul Limbii Române‎^[7], volume 8, part 2, Bucharest: Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, pages 527–529
• Iorgu Iordan, Alexandru Graur, Ion Coteanu, editors (1974), “picá²”, in Dicționarul Limbii Române‎^[8], volume 8, part 2, Bucharest: Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, page 529

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Hypocoristic form derived from pízda (“cunt”).

Pronunciation

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

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 Italian pizza.

Pronunciation

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

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

Slovene

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pizza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pìːt͡sa/, /píːt͡sa/

Noun

pīca f

1. pizza

Declension

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

Further reading

• “pica”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpika/ [ˈpi.ka]
• Rhymes: -ika
• Syllabification: pi‧ca

Etymology 1

Deverbal from picar.

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

• poner una pica en Flandes
• sacar pica

Etymology 2

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

Noun

pica f (countable and uncountable, plural picas)

1. (pathology, usually uncountable) pica (a disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances)

Etymology 3

Verb

pica

1. inflection of picar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “pica”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10