Etymologically
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pica

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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]
  • 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