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Pica

//ˈpaɪkə// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand. uncountable, usually

    "The three most common nonfood picas were eating of strings and rags; feces, vomit, and urine; and paper, cigarettes, and soil."

  2. 2
    A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point. uncountable

    "I had been at Baldwin's before dinner in consequence of a letter from him which showed me that, by using a pica instead of an English letter in printing my book, I might comprise it within such a number of sheets as a guinea-volume should contain […]."

  3. 3
    Archaic form of pika (“small lagomorph”). alt-of, archaic

    "Most travellers in the Himalaya are familiar with the pretty little Rodents, known as picas, tailless hares, or mouse-hares, which may be seen in the higher regions[…]"

  4. 4
    Abbreviation of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    a linear unit (1/6 inch) used in printing wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A magpie. countable
  2. 7
    A font of this size. uncountable, usually
  3. 8
    Initialism of posterior inferior cerebellar artery. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  4. 9
    an eating disorder, frequent in children, in which non-nutritional objects are eaten persistently wordnet
  5. 10
    A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in. countable
  6. 11
    A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars. countable, uncommon, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”). * (pathology): From the idea that magpies will eat almost anything.

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin pica (“pica: a service book”), possibly from Latin pīca (“magpie”) after the piebald appearance of the typeset page (cf. pie (“disordered type”)). The relation to the printer's measure is unclear, as no edition of the text in pica type is known. The French pica derives from English rather than vice versa.

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