Where does “pique-nique” come from?
pique-nique (French) comes 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, from Proto-Indo-European bew- — "low-pitch humming noise".
pique-nique (French): picnic
Definitions
- picnic
Ancestry of “pique-nique”, step by step
pique-nique traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French piqué
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | piqué | past participle of piquer; dive; two fabrics... |
| 2 | French | piquer | to prick; to sting; to nick, pinch, steal |
| 3 | Middle French | picquer | to sting |
| 4 | Old French | piquer | to pierce with the tip of a sword |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | piccare | to puncture; to sting, strike; to pierce |
| 6 | Frankish | pikkōn | to peck, strike |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | pikōną | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bew- | "low-pitch humming noise" |