pica

pica · noun¹

1. Latin · borrowed frompīca“jay; magpie”
2. English todaypica

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”). * (pathology): From the idea that magpies will eat almost anything.

pica · noun²

1. Latin · derived frompīca“magpie”
2. Medieval Latin · derived frompica“pica: a service book”
3. English todaypica

From Medieval Latin pica (“pica: a service book”), possibly from Latin pīca (“magpie”) after the piebald appearance of the typeset page (cf. pie (“disordered type”)). The relation to the printer's measure is unclear, as no edition of the text in pica type is known. The French pica derives from English rather than vice versa.

Words from the same roots