pica

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈpiː.ka]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiː.ka]^[1]

Forms

pīca f (genitive pīcae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *peikā, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker; magpie”), and related to pīcus “woodpecker”.^[1][2] De Vaan sees the feminine as a derivative of *(s)piko- “woodpecker”, and the words may be imitative.^[3]

Compare Umbrian peica, Sanskrit पिक (pika, “cuckoo”) and Old High German speht (“woodpecker”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Ovid (43 BC–18 AD).^[5] Ovid uses it in the Metamorphoses.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It meant the magpie, and the OLD says the name covered the jay too.^[4][6] Pliny writes of it, and Persius mentions it.^[6][2] In Petronius it is a chatterer.^[2][7]

Romance kept it, as Italian pica and Spanish pega.^[1] English pie “magpie” came from it through Old French in the mid-13th century, and magpie adds Mag for Margaret.^[8]

Timeline

• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the magpie.^[2][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes of the magpie.^[6][5]
• 34–62 AD – Persius mentions the magpie.^[6][5]
• before 66 AD – Petronius calls a chatterer a pica.^[2][5]
• mid-13th century – English pie “magpie” is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A magpie; a jay.^[4][1]
2. A chatterer.^[2][7]

Related words

• picus
• English magpie
• English pie

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com