Etymology Explorer › Esperanto

Where does “pikniki” come from?

pikniki (Esperanto) comes from English picnic, from French pique-nique, from French piqué, from French piquer, from Middle French picquer, from Old French piquer, from Vulgar Latin piccare, from Frankish pikkōn — "low-pitch humming noise".

Ancestry of “pikniki”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpicnicAn informal social gathering, usually in a...
2Frenchpique-niquepicnic
3Frenchpiquépast participle of piquer; dive; two fabrics...
4Frenchpiquerto prick; to sting; to nick, pinch, steal
5Middle Frenchpicquerto sting
6Old Frenchpiquerto pierce with the tip of a sword
7Vulgar Latinpiccareto puncture; to sting, strike; to pierce
8Frankishpikkōnto peck, strike
9Proto-Germanicpikōną—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanbew-"low-pitch humming noise"

Words derived from “pikniki”

  • piknikar
  • pikniko
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bew- →