Meanings
plural piqués · alternative pique
- countableuncountablebusinessA kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
I found three piqué shirts, each a shade lighter than the one before it, and each so fine and closely woven it shone like satin.
1998, Sarah Waters, Tipping the Velvet, Virago (2018), page 269Synonyms: marcella
- countableballetA movement in which the raised, pointed foot of the working leg is lowered so that it pricks the floor and then either rebounds upward or becomes a supporting foot.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
Origin
- Middle Frenchpiqué“quilted”
- Frenchpiqué“(noun) ribbed fabric; (ballet) step on to the point of the leading foot without bending the knee; (adjective) backstitched; (cooking) larded”
- Englishpiqué
Borrowed from French piqué (“(noun) ribbed fabric; (ballet) step on to the point of the leading foot without bending the knee; (adjective) backstitched; (cooking) larded”), Middle French piqué (“quilted”), a noun use of the past participle of piquer (“to prick, sting; to decorate with stitches; to quilt; to stitch (fabric) together; to lard (meat)”).
More words from French, Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Spanish piqué
- piquékind of corded or ribbed fabric
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with piqué
All rhymes →Cite this entry
piqué. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piqu%C3%A9
“piqué.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piqu%C3%A9. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “piqué,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piqu%C3%A9.
Source: piqué on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.