pique
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: pēk
ipa: /piːk/
ipa: /pik/
homophone: peak
homophone: peek
homophone: peke
rhymes: -iːk
Forms: form: piques
Etymology: The verb is borrowed from French piquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry; to provoke, stimulate; (reflexive) to boast about”), from Middle French piquer, picquer (“to prick, sting; to anger, annoy; (reflexive) to get angry”), from Old French piquer (“to pierce with the tip of a sword”), from proto-Romance or Vulgar Latin *pīccare (“to sting; to strike”) or *pikkāre, and then either:
* Onomatopoeic; or
* from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to knock; to peck; to pick; to prick”). If so, pique is a doublet of pick, pitch, and peck.
The noun is borrowed from Middle French pique (“a quarrel; resentment”) (modern French pique), from piquer, picquer (verb); see above.
Senses: examples: text: Men take up piques and diſpleaſures at others, and then every opinion of the diſliked perſon muſt partake of his fate, and be engaged in the quarrel: […]
ref: 1667, attributed to Richard Allestree, “A Survey of the Causes of Disputes; Fourthly, Passion”, in The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety. […], London: […] R. Norton for T. Garthwait, […], →OCLC, page 373:
text: [H]e ſhew'd himself, out of ſome little pique, the moſt bitter enemy againſt the K[ing, i.e., Charles I of England] in all the Houſe [of Parliament], as well in action as ſpeech; […]
ref: 1691, [Anthony Wood], “HENRY MARTEN”, in Athenæ Oxonienses. An Exact History of All the Writers and Bishops who have had Their Education in the Most Ancient and Famous University of Oxford from the Fifteenth Year of King Henry the Seventh, Dom. 1500, to the End of the Year 1690. […], volume II (Completing the Whole Work), London: […] Tho[mas] Bennet […], →OCLC, column 493:
text: This dog and man at firſt were friends; / But when a pique began, / The dog, to gain his private ends, / Went mad and bit the man.
ref: 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “A Migration. The Fortunate Circumstances of Our Lives are Generally Found at Last to Be of Our Own Procuring. [An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.]”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume I, Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC, pages 175–176:
text: Not so Madame de Soissons, who at once divined his intentions and watched his progress, internally resolving to render him every ill office pique could suggest, or ridicule execute.
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 222:
text: [L]ong, costly, and bloody wars had arisen upon a point of ceremony, upon a personal pique, upon a hasty word, upon some explosion of momentary caprice; […]
ref: 1853, Thomas De Quincey, “On War”, in Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers. […], volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, pages 199–200:
text: [T]here occurred one of the little skirmishes which it is almost impossible to avoid, when some five-and-twenty women, old and young, with all their private piques and prejudices, try to work together.
ref: 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Consequences”, in Little Women: […], 2nd part, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 93:
glosses: Enmity, ill feeling; (countable) a feeling of animosity or a dispute.
examples: text: Tuſh! tuſh! you take the grave peake uppon you too much: who would think you could ſo eaſily ſhake off your olde friendes?
ref: 1592, Tho[mas] Nashe, “The Foure Letters Confuted”, in Strange Newes, of the Intercepting Certaine Letters and a Convoy of Verses, […], London: […] Iohn Danter, […], →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] Payne Collier, editor, Illustrations of Early English Literature (Miscellaneous Tracts; Temp. Eliz. and Jac. I), volume II, London: Privately printed, [1867], →OCLC, page 35:
text: Pray, my Lord, take no picque at it: 'tis not given to all men to be confident: […]
ref: 1667 (revival performance), John Dryden, The Wild Gallant: A Comedy. […], In the Savoy [London]: […] T[homas] Newcomb for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1669, →OCLC, Act II, page 20:
text: "'Tis because you are an indifferent person," said Lucy, with some pique, and laying a particular stress on those words, "that your judgment must justly have such weight with me.["]
ref: 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 30:
text: "At all events," replied Francesca, "it could not be better bestowed, than as an offering, however unworthy, for his sake who is nearest and dearest to me in the world." / "I thank you for the implied compliment," returned Evelyn, in a tone of pique.
ref: 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXIII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 283:
text: You think this is a personal thing with me? Are you telling me I think of this in terms of a personal pique?
ref: 1957 June 27, Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, Alexander Mackendrick (uncredited), Sweet Smell of Success:
text: This defiance was not a fit of pique, but a matter of principle. He [Mandela's father] was asserting his traditional prerogative as a chief and was challenging the authority of the magistrate.
ref: 1994, Nelson Mandela, chapter 1, in Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, part 1 (A Country Childhood), page 6:
text: [Jürgen] Klopp’s team had the better balance between attack and defence and, crucially, they got lucky with the disallowed goal that brought [Pep] Guardiola to the point of spontaneous combustion at half-time. Guardiola’s fit of pique led to his banishment from the dugout and City will wonder what might have happened if they had taken a 2–0 lead into the second half.
ref: 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2021:
glosses: Irritation or resentment awakened by a social injury or slight; offence, especially taken in an emotional sense with little consideration or thought; (countable) especially in fit of pique: a transient feeling of wounded pride.
examples: text: Add long preſcription of eſtabliſh'd laws, / And picque of honour to maintain a cauſe, / And ſhame of change, and fear of future ill, / And Zeal, the blind conductor of the will; […]
ref: 1687, [John Dryden], “The Third Part”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, pages 95–96:
glosses: In pique of honour: a matter, a point.