pica Latin · revision 3976
15 Oct 2026, 20:39 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=Ovid|origins=ine-pro *(s)peyk-}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈpiː.ka]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiː.ka]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''pīca''' ''f'' (genitive pīcae); first declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*peikā]], [[inh|ine-pro|*(s)peyk-|t=woodpecker; magpie]], and related to [[picus|alt=pīcus]] “woodpecker”.^(Wiktionary)^(Georges 1913) De Vaan sees the feminine as a derivative of *(s)piko- “woodpecker”, and the words may be imitative.^(de Vaan 2008)
+
+ Compare [[xum|peica]], [[sa|पिक|tr=pika|t=cuckoo]] and [[goh|speht|t=woodpecker]].^(OLD 2012)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Köbler's first source is Ovid (43 BC–18 AD).^(Köbler 2010) Ovid uses it in the Metamorphoses.^(Georges 1913)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant the magpie, and the OLD says the name covered the jay too.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Pliny writes of it, and Persius mentions it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) In Petronius it is a chatterer.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+
+ Romance kept it, as Italian [[m|it|pica]] and Spanish [[m|es|pega]].^(Wiktionary) English ''pie'' “magpie” came from it through Old French in the mid-13th century, and ''magpie'' adds ''Mag'' for Margaret.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the magpie.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes of the magpie.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 34–62 AD – Persius mentions the magpie.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * before 66 AD – Petronius calls a chatterer a ''pica''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * mid-13th century – English ''pie'' “magpie” is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A [[m|en|magpie]]; a [[m|en|jay]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)
+ # A chatterer.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[picus]]
+ * [[en|magpie]]
+ * [[en|pie]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}