picca

Italian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *piccus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpik.ka/
• Rhymes: -ikka
• Hyphenation: pìc‧ca

Noun

picca f (plural picche)

1. pike
2. pique, obstinancy, stubbornness, animosity
3. (in the plural) spades (suit of playing cards)

Latin

Alternative forms

• pīca, pīcha, pīcea, pīcta

Etymology

Possibly from Vulgar Latin *pīccō (“to strike, sting”), possible borrowing from Frankish *pikkōn (“to peck, strike”). Alternatively from Frankish *pīk (compare Dutch pik (“pick, pickaxe”)), or from pīcus (“woodpecker”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈpiːk.ka]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈpik.ka]

Noun

pīcca f (genitive pīccae); first declension

1. pickaxe, pike

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	pīcca	pīccae
genitive	pīccae	pīccārum
dative	pīccae	pīccīs
accusative	pīccam	pīccās
ablative	pīccā	pīccīs
vocative	pīcca	pīccae

Descendants

• Old French: pike, pikke
  • Middle French: picque, pique
    • French: pique
    • → Dutch: pijk, piek, pike
    • → English: pique
    • → Portuguese: pique
    • → Spanish: pique
  • → Middle English: pike, pyke, pyk (partially from Old English pīc)
    • English: pike
  • → Irish: píce
• Iberian:
  • Aragonese: pica
  • Asturian: pica
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: pica
    • Galician: pica
    • Portuguese: pica
  • Spanish: pica
• Italian: picca
• Old Occitan:
  • Occitan: piqua, (Aranese) pique
  • Catalan: pica

Sicilian

Etymology

Uncertain, maybe from the root *peh₂w- (“few, small”). Most likely from Vulgar Latin picca, from earlier *piccus, borrowed from Proto-Celtic *bikkos (“small, little”). Eventually influenced by dissimilation by paucus (“few, little”). Cognate with Sicilian picciottu and pìcciulu. Compare Italian piccolo, Spanish pequeño, Romanian pic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpikːa/

Adverb

picca

1. little, not much
2. (followed by an adjective) little, not very, poorly

   Synonyms: n'anticchia, tanticchia, na pocu

   Mi nn'hâ dari picca.

   Give me just a little.

Derived terms

• piccittu
• picculiḍḍa
• picculiḍḍu

Related terms

• malura
• n'anticchia
• nicu
• nìciulu
• picciriḍḍu
• picu
• pocu
• tanticchia