Where does “fire pike” come from?
fire pike (English) comes from English Pike, from French piqué, from French piquer, from Middle French picquer, from Old French piquer, from Vulgar Latin piccare, from Frankish pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic pikōną — "low-pitch humming noise".
fire pike (English): A flaming lance, more commonly used in sea battles; sometimes used as a distress signal
Definitions
- A flaming lance, more commonly used in sea battles; sometimes used as a distress signal
Ancestry of “fire pike”, step by step
fire pike traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Pike
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Pike | A member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity |
| 2 | French | piqué | past participle of piquer; dive; two fabrics... |
| 3 | French | piquer | to prick; to sting; to nick, pinch, steal |
| 4 | Middle French | picquer | to sting |
| 5 | Old French | piquer | to pierce with the tip of a sword |
| 6 | Vulgar Latin | piccare | to puncture; to sting, strike; to pierce |
| 7 | Frankish | pikkōn | to peck, strike |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | pikōną | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bew- | "low-pitch humming noise" |
via English fire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | fire | A chemical reaction involving the bonding of... |
| 2 | Middle English | fier | Alternative form of figer |
| 3 | Old English | fȳr | fire |
| 4 | Old English | feor | Alternative form of feorr; far |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |