# pica
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈpaɪkə/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American) enPR: pīkə, IPA: /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)
* (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.
* (countable) A magpie.

##### Translations
#### 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)
* (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 […] .
* (typography, uncountable, usually with qualifier) A font of this size.
* (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
* (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
#### Further reading

* pica (typography) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

pica (plural picas)
* 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 […]

### References

* 1 2 3 Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "pica, n.$^1$" & "pica, n.$^2$". Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2006.

### Anagrams

* ACPI, APIC, apic, capi, paci

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈpi.kə]
* IPA: (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)
* bowl
    pica beneitera ― holy water font
* 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)
* (weaponry) pike
* (card games) spade

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“magpie”).

#### Noun

pica f (uncountable)
* (pathology) pica (disorder characterized by craving and appetite for non-edible substances)

### Etymology 4

Deverbal from picar.

#### Noun

pica f (plural piques)
* peak, summit
    Synonyms: pic, cim, cima

### Etymology 5

Borrowed from French pika, from an Evenki word.

#### Noun

pica f (plural piques)
* pika (small, furry mammal)

### Etymology 6
#### Verb

pica
* inflection of picar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

### Further reading

* “pica” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “pica” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Galician
### Noun

pica m (plural picas)
* pipit
* (card games) spade (a playing card of the suit spades, picas)

### Verb

pica
* inflection of picar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## Italian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpi.ka/
* Rhymes: -ika
* Hyphenation: pì‧ca

### Noun

pica f (plural piche)
* magpie
* 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: /ˈpiː.ka/, [ˈpiːkä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈpi.ka/, [ˈpiːkä]

### Noun

pīca f (genitive pīcae); first declension
* magpie

#### Declension

First-declension noun.

#### 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
### Etymology

From Italian pizza.

### Noun

pica f (4th declension)
* pizza

#### Declension
## Lithuanian
### Etymology

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

### Noun

picà f (plural picos) stress pattern 2
* pizza

#### Related terms

* picerija (“pizzeria”)

### References

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

## Old Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (10th–15th CE) /pit͡sa/
* IPA: (15th CE) /pit͡sa/

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *piťa.

#### Noun

pica f
* (attested in Greater Poland) fodder, food, nourishment
** 1890 [End of the 15th century], Bolesław Erzepki, editor, Szczątki dawnej polszczyzny‎, Mogilno, page 182:Alimentum piczą vel pocarm[Alimentum pica vel pokarm]
* (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, 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)]
* (attested in Masovia) Type of tribute; free food supply donated to an army.
** 1863 [1447], Jan Tadeusz Lubomirski, editor, Kodeks dyplomatyczny księstwa mazowieckiego‎, 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

* picować impf

##### Descendants

* Polish: (obsolete) pica (“fodder”)

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Slavic.

#### Noun

pica f
* (attested in Lesser Poland) vulva
** 1874-1891 [1447], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności‎, 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: /ˈpi.t͡sa/
* Rhymes: -it͡sa
* Syllabification: pi‧ca

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish pica (“fodder”).

#### Noun

pica f
* (obsolete) fodder, forage
    Synonyms: furaż, pasza

##### Derived terms

* picownik
* picować

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Polish pica (“vulva”).

#### Noun

pica f (diminutive piczka)
* (vulgar) cunt, pussy (female genitalia)
    Synonyms: cipa, pizda, psiocha

##### Declension
### Further reading

* pica in Polish dictionaries at PWN
* M. Arcta Słownik Staropolski/Pica on the Polish Wikisource.Wikisource $^{pl}$

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpi.kɐ/
* Rhymes: -ikɐ
* Hyphenation: pi‧ca

### Etymology 1

Deverbal from picar.

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* (Portugal) act of mincing
* (historical, rare) pike (long spear)
    Synonym: pique
* (Brazil, colloquial, vulgar) dick; prick; penis
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pénis
* (Portugal, childish) jab (medical injection)
    Synonym: injeção
* (Portugal, colloquial) energy; power
    Já estou com a pica toda. ― I'm full of energy.
* (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)
* (Portugal, informal) ticket inspector
    Synonym: revisor
* (Portugal, slang) joint (marijuana cigarette)

#### Adjective

pica m or f (plural picas)
* (Southeast Brazil, vulgar) awesome; amazing; cool

##### Derived terms

* ser pica

### Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin pīca

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* (pathology) pica

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from English pica, ultimately from Latin pīca.

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* (typography, printing, rare) pica
    Synonym: paica

### Etymology 4

From pico (“tip”).

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* (Portugal) dace; chub (fish of the genus Leuciscus)
    Synonyms: escalo, robalinho
* (Portugal) atherine (fish of the genus Atherina)
    Synonym: peixe-rei

### Etymology 5

Borrowed from French pika.

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* pika (mammal of the family Ochotonidae)

### Etymology 6

Borrowed from English pic.

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* (Brazil, Internet slang, 4chan, humorous) pic (short for picture, meaning image) (Can we verify this sense?)

### Etymology 7

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

pica
* inflection of picar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** 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: /piˈka/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -a
* Hyphenation: pi‧ca

#### Verb

a pica (third-person singular present pică, past participle picat) 1st conjugation
* (intransitive) to fall
    Synonym: cădea
* (intransitive, of systems or connections) to fail, have downtime, be interrupted
* (transitive) to fail an exam
    Antonyms: promova, (informal) lua
* (transitive, informal) to fail a student
* (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.
* (intransitive) to fall on a date
    Synonym: cădea
* (intransitive, informal, now uncommon, of people) to come by, appear, show up
    Synonyms: apărea, își face apariția, se ivi
* (intransitive, informal, of things) to fall into one’s hands, fall into one’s lap [with dative]
* (transitive, archaic) to have drops of liquid fall on something or someone
* (transitive, obsolete) to drip a liquid
* (transitive or reflexive, obsolete or regional) to stain something, respectively oneself
* (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.

##### 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
* (intransitive, aviation) to dive

##### Derived terms

* picaj

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from Latin pīca.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpi.ka/
* Rhymes: -ika
* Hyphenation: pi‧ca

#### Noun

pica f (uncountable)
* pica

##### Declension
### Etymology 4
#### Noun

pica
* definite nominative/accusative singular of pică

### References

* pica in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
* Iorgu Iordan, Alexandru Graur, Ion Coteanu, editors (1974), “picá$^1$”, in Dicționarul Limbii Române‎, volume 8, part 2, Bucharest: Academy of the Socialist Republic of Romania, pages 527–529
* Iorgu Iordan, Alexandru Graur, Ion Coteanu, editors (1974), “picá$^2$”, in Dicționarul Limbii Române‎, 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: /pǐːtsa/
* Hyphenation: pi‧ca
* Rhymes: -it͡sa

#### Noun

píca f (Cyrillic spelling пи́ца)
* (vulgar, hypocoristic) cunt, pussy

##### Declension
### Etymology 2

From Italian pizza.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pîtsa/
* Hyphenation: pi‧ca
* Rhymes: -it͡sa

#### Noun

pȉca f (Cyrillic spelling пи̏ца)
* pizza

##### Declension
## Slovene
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian pizza.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pìːt͡sa/, /píːt͡sa/

### Noun

pīca f
* pizza

#### Declension
### Further reading

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

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈpika/ [ˈpi.ka]
* Rhymes: -ika
* Syllabification: pi‧ca

### Etymology 1

Deverbal from picar.

#### Noun

pica f (plural picas)
* pike, lance
* pick (digging tool)
* (card games) spade (a playing card of the suit spades, picas)

##### Derived terms

* poner una pica en Flandes
* sacar pica

##### See also

Suits in Spanish · palos (layout · text) :
| corazones | diamantes | picas | tréboles |

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

### Etymology 3
#### Verb

pica
* inflection of picar:
** third-person singular present indicative
** 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