Etymology Explorer › Middle French

Where does “piquer” come from?

piquer (Middle French) comes from Old French piquer, from Vulgar Latin piccare, from Frankish pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic pikōną, from Proto-Indo-European bew- — "low-pitch humming noise".

Ancestry of “piquer”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpiquerto pierce with the tip of a sword
2Vulgar Latinpiccareto puncture; to sting, strike; to pierce
3Frankishpikkōnto peck, strike
4Proto-Germanicpikōną—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbew-"low-pitch humming noise"

Words derived from “piquer”

  • piquant
  • piquancy
  • piquantly
  • unpiquant
  • piquantness
  • piquant
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bew- →