piquer

English

Etymology

pique +‎ -er

Noun

piquer (plural piquers)

1. One who piques.
   • 1895, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 91, page 644:

     You are what I may call a piquer of curiosity.

   • 1972, North Carolina Folklore Journal (1972-1973), page 85:

     The name above the door is F. Dula. Under the circumstances, an interest piquer.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French picquer, from Old French piquer (“to pierce with the tip of a sword”) (cf. also pikier), from proto-Romance or Vulgar Latin *pīccare (“to sting, strike”) or *pikkāre (compare Occitan, Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish picar), itself either from an onomatopoeic root *pikk- (cf. also Latin picus, whence French pic), or alternatively, from Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikōną, *pukaną (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European *beu-, *bu- (“to make a dull sound”).

Cognate with Old English pȳcan, pician (“to pick, pluck”); Old Norse pikka (“to prick, peck”); Middle Dutch and Middle Low German picken (“to pick, peck, pierce”); Middle High German puchen (“to knock, defy, plunder”). More at pick.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi.ke/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophones: piquai, piqué, piquée, piquées, piqués, piquez

Verb

piquer

1. (transitive) to prick; to sting

   Synonym: poindre

2. (intransitive) to sting

   Ça pique ! ― That stings!

3. (transitive) to put down, euthanise (an animal)

   faire piquer son chien ― to have one's dog put down

4. (transitive, colloquial) to nick, pinch, steal

   Synonyms: chiper, subtiliser, voler

   piquer quelque chose à quelqu’un ― to pinch something from someone

5. (reflexive, transitive with de) to pride oneself on; to like to think that one can do
6. (textiles, couture) to stitch together
7. (intransitive) to dive, descend rapidly (of birds or planes)
8. (intransitive) to dash (towards something)

   Synonym: se lancer

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

• → English: pique
• → German: pikieren
• → Italian: piccarsi
• Louisiana Creole: piqué

Further reading

• “piquer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• piqure, piqûre