Etymologically
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piquer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pi.ke/[1]

Forms

piquer[1] The Académie wrote picquer in 1694, piquer from 1718.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *pīkkō (“to prick, strike”), a verb found in all the Romance languages except Romanian (compare Catalan picar, Spanish picar and Portuguese picar).[2][3][4][5][6][7] It goes back to an expressive stem ⟨pikk-⟩, born of the impression of a quick movement followed by a short sharp sound: the /p/ paints the start of the movement, the /k/ its end and the /i/ its sharpness; the double consonant was not palatalized, which would have destroyed its expressiveness.[3][4][2] The same stem is found in the Germanic languages, without borrowing either way; in classical Latin it had already given pīcus (“woodpecker”) (see pic).[3][8]

Wiktionary suggests as more likely a Frankish *pikkōn (“to pick, peck”).[1] The Petit Robert notes that the verb is probably older than its record, since dépiquer is found in the 13th century, and that until the 14th century the notion was expressed by poindre.[5] It is to be distinguished from an older homonymous verb meaning “to demolish with picks” (second half of the 13th century), derived from the noun for a pick.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Joinville (about 1306) uses it for piercing with the point of a sword: nous piquoient de leurs glaives par desus, “they jabbed at us with their swords from above”.[2][9][3]

Semantic evolution

From piercing came many uses: of worms, to eat holes (about 1480), whence n'être pas piqué des vers “to be first-rate” (1832); of insects, to sting (1541), whence quelle mouche le pique ? (Cotgrave, 1611); to goad an animal and to stick a point in the ground (1538); in sewing, to stitch (1606, courtepoincte picquée, 1572); in cooking, to lard meat (1660); in medicine, to prick with a lancet (1671).[2][3][10]

Music has note piquée (1721), seamanship piquer au vent (1773), and slang piquer un chien “to sleep” (Musset, 1831), whence piquer un somme.[2][1] Figuratively it meant “to vex” (Gréban, 1458), and se piquer de “to pride oneself on” (Sorel, 1623).[2] Of aircraft, piquer “to dive” is in Martin du Gard (1936), and familiarly it means “to pinch, steal”.[11][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1306 – “To pierce with a sword”, Joinville.[2]
  • 1458 – “To vex”, Arnoul Gréban.[2]
  • c. 1480 – Of worms, to eat holes.[2]
  • 1541 – Of insects, to sting.[2]
  • 1606 – In sewing, to stitch.[2]
  • 1623 – Se piquer de, Sorel.[2]
  • 1660 – In cooking, to lard.[2]
  • 1831 – Piquer un chien “to sleep”, Musset.[2]
  • 1832 – Qui n'est pas piqué des vers.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To prick, pierce lightly with a point; to give an injection; of an insect, to sting, bite.[5][1]
  2. To spur, goad an animal: piquer des deux, to set off at a gallop.[5]
  3. To put down an animal by injection.[1]
  4. To stick in, plant a point in, (cooking) to lard.[2][3]
  5. (sewing) To stitch, quilt.[1][2]
  6. To sting, burn: of pepper, cold, smoke, piquer au vif, to cut to the quick.[1][11]
  7. (familiar) To pinch, steal.[1]
  8. (familiar) With certain nouns, to have suddenly: piquer une crise, piquer un fard, to blush, piquer un somme, to take a nap, piquer une tête, to dive.[1]
  9. (intransitive) Of a bird or aircraft, to dive, piquer du nez, to nose-dive, nod off; to rush towards.[1][11]
  10. Se piquer de: to pride oneself on, se piquer, to take offence; to inject oneself.[1][2]

Word family

  • piqûre
  • piquant
  • piqué
  • piqueur
  • piquet
  • piqueter
  • piquette
  • repiquer
  • picoter
  • pique-assiette
  • pic
  • pique
  • poindre

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 450a
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF