pickup

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɪkʌp/^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun use of the verb phrase pick up.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

That which is picked up: 1848 in Etymonline and Merriam-Webster, also written pick-up.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective, made up of whatever is at hand, it is by 1859, and of a game between informally chosen teams from 1905.^[2] The act of picking up is from 1882,^[2] capacity for acceleration from 1909, and recovery or improvement from 1916.^[2] The device on a guitar or record player that converts vibrations into electrical signals is also called a pickup.^[4][5] The small truck, short for pickup truck, is from 1937; the pickup body was introduced by Ford in 1925–26.^[2]

Timeline

• 1848 – something picked up.^[2][3]
• 1859 – pickup (adjective).^[2]
• 1909 – acceleration.^[2]
• 1925 – pickup body.^[2]
• 1937 – a pickup truck.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A small truck with an open back and low sides; a pickup truck.
2. An act of collecting a person or goods.
3. An improvement or recovery, as in the economy.
4. A device on an electric guitar or record player that converts vibrations into electrical signals.
5. Capacity for acceleration.

Adjective

1. Formed informally from whoever is available: a pickup game.

Related words

• pick
• pick up

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin