Where does “picnic” come from?
Picnic comes from French pique-nique, derived from French piquer meaning to pick or peck, from Middle French picquer, from Old French piquer, from Frankish pikkōn, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)peyk-.
picnic (English): An informal social gathering, usually in a...
Definitions
- An informal social gathering, usually in a...
Ancestry of “picnic”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | pique-nique | picnic |
| 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" |