pick English · revision 2592

+ English has two main words spelled ''pick'': the verb “to choose, pluck”, and the pointed tool, a variant of [[pike]].^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ {{homograph|1|choose, pluck}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited, borrowing|attested=c. 1225 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=ang *pīcian}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|picken|t=to peck]], later piken,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) probably [[inh|ang|*pīcian|t=to prick]], implied by pīcung “a pricking”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) fused with [[non|pikka|t=to prick, peck]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) both akin to Middle Dutch [[m|dum|picken|t=to prick, peck]] and German [[m|de|picken]], perhaps imitative.^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Merriam-Webster and the American Heritage Dictionary see it partly also from Middle French [[m|frm|piquer|t=to prick]],^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2000)^(MW Collegiate) which Etymonline says is generally not considered a source,^(Etymonline) and the SOED calls the origin uncertain.^(SOED 2002) The noun, an act of picking, is from the verb.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “To peck”: about 1225, in the ''Ancrene Riwle''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) “To work with a pick, dig” is from about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To pluck with the fingers, gather” fruit, and “to prick with a pointed instrument”, are from the early 14th century.^(Etymonline) “To choose, select” is from about 1330,^(Barnhart 1988) or the late 14th century, from the sense of plucking with the fingers.^(Etymonline) “To rob, plunder” is from about 1300, weakened to “to pilfer” by the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) Picking a lock is from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and picking a quarrel from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) “To eat with small bites” is from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and plucking a banjo from 1860.^(Etymonline) The noun's sense “right of first choice” is by 1772, and hence “choicest part” by 1858.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A plectrum is a ''pick'' from 1895.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1225 – to peck.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to dig; to rob.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – to pluck, gather.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1330 – to choose.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-15th century – to pick a quarrel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – to eat in small bites.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1772 – noun, first choice.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1860 – to pluck a banjo.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1895 – a plectrum.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[choose]] from a group; to select.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To gather or [[harvest]]: ''to pick apples''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To remove by pulling or with a pointed tool.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To open a [[lock]] without a key.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To pluck the strings of an instrument.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To provoke: ''to pick a fight''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of choosing; a choice.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # The best or choicest part.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A [[plectrum]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[picker]]

+ * [[pickpocket]]

+ * [[picklock]]

+ * [[toothpick]]

+ * [[pick-up]]

+ * [[pick-me-up]]

+ * [[nitpick]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|tool}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1200|origins=ang pīc}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The tool is [[inh|enm|pic]], later pikke,^(Barnhart 1988) a variant of [[pike]], “a sharp point”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000)^(SOED 2002) ultimately [[inh|ang|pīc|t=a point, pick]].^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A pickaxe: probably before 1200,^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1200.^(Etymonline) The OED's first quotation is from 1340.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A pointed hammer for dressing millstones is from 1483,^(OED 1989) and a spike or point from 1495.^(OED 1989) The pick also named a pitchfork or hay-fork from 1410.^(OED 1989) In archaeology a prehistoric implement for breaking rock is from 1949.^(OED 1989) Other pointed tools for picking, such as an ice pick and a toothpick, are named with ''pick'',^(AHD) and an instrument for picking locks is by 1890.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a pickaxe.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1410 – a pitchfork.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1483 – a millstone hammer.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1890 – a lock pick.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A tool with a curved bar pointed at one or both ends, fixed to a long handle, for breaking hard ground or rock; a [[pickaxe]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A pointed tool for picking: ''an ice pick''.^(AHD)

+ # A comb with long teeth for curly hair.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pickaxe]]

+ * [[ice pick]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[peck]]

+ * [[pike]]

+ * [[pique]]

+ * [[pitch]]

+ * [[picket]]

+ * [[pickle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A third ''pick'', in weaving a throw of the shuttle or a single thread of the weft, is from a dialect verb “to pitch, throw”, a variant of [[pitch]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}