Where does “picky” come from?
Picky derives from Middle English -y (suffix forming adjectives) added to English peep, itself from English pip, which comes from English pippin, ultimately tracing back through English peep and English pip to English pippin.
picky (English): Fussy; particular; demanding to have things just...
Definitions
- Fussy; particular; demanding to have things just...
Ancestry of “picky”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | pick | A tool used for digging; a pickaxe; A tool for... |
| 2 | Middle English | piken | To pick at; to use a edged tool on; To pierce or... |
| 3 | Middle English | pyke | A sharp round point or projection; A point or end... |
| 4 | Old English | pīc | pointed object, pick axe |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *pīk | — |
| 6 | Latin | pix | pitch, tar |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pik- | to be angry; pitch; resin |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pi- | sap, juice |
Words derived from “picky”