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pico

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pico

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
234–149 BC, Cato
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*pik-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pix
Latin pico

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɪ.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpiː.ko][1]

Forms

picō (present infinitive picāre, perfect active picāvī, supine picātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pix (“pitch”) + -ō.[2][1] The TLL leaves open whether the verb was made first from the noun or the participle picātus was.[3] De Vaan traces pix to Proto-Italic *pik- and Proto-Indo-European *pik- (“pitch”);[4] cognate with Ancient Greek πίσσα (píssa, “pitch”) and Lithuanian pìkis (“pitch”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato has pitched jars, vats and wine troughs in On Agriculture.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It is to smear or coat with pitch, to tar: Vitruvius pitches the inner parts of tiles carefully, Pliny the Elder walls, and Suetonius jars that are well pitched.[6][5] Of wine it is to season with pitch, in Columella.[5][6] The participle picātus is also an adjective, of wine with a natural taste of pitch in Pliny the Elder and Martial,[5][6] and the Copa has a pitched jar.[6]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato, of pitched jars.[5][7]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius, of pitching tiles.[6][7]
  • 1st century AD – Columella, of pitched wine.[5][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder, of pitching walls.[5][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To smear or coat with pitch, to tar.[2][5][1]
  2. To season (wine) with pitch.[5][6][1]

Word family

  • impicō
  • oppicō
  • picātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pico.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pico. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·