Where does “unpickable” come from?

unpickable (English) comes from English pickable, from English pick, from Middle English piken, from Middle English pyke, from Old English pīc, from Proto-Germanic *pīk, from Latin pix, from Proto-Indo-European pik- — sap, juice.

unpickable (English): That cannot be picked

Definitions

  1. That cannot be picked

Ancestry of “unpickable”, step by step

unpickable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English pickable

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpickableAble to be picked
2EnglishpickA tool used for digging; a pickaxe; A tool for...
3Middle EnglishpikenTo pick at; to use a edged tool on; To pierce or...
4Middle EnglishpykeA sharp round point or projection; A point or end...
5Old Englishpīcpointed object, pick axe
6Proto-Germanic*pīk
7Latinpixpitch, tar
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpik-to be angry; pitch; resin
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpi-sap, juice

via English un

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishunOne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pi-
unpickable — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer