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Pica

 - 8 dictionary results

pi⋅ca

1  [pahy-kuh]
Use Pica in a Sentence
–noun Printing.
1. a 12-point type of a size between small pica and English.
2. the depth of this type size as a unit of linear measurement for type, pages containing type, etc.; one sixth of an inch.
3. a 12-point type, widely used for typewriters, having 10 characters to the inch. Compare elite (def. 4).
Origin:
1580–90; appar. < ML pīca pie 4 , on the model of brevier, canon 1 (def. 14)

pi⋅ca

2  [pahy-kuh]
–noun Pathology.
an abnormal appetite or craving for substances that are not fit to eat, as chalk or clay, common in malnutrition, pregnancy, etc.
Origin:
1555–65; < NL, special use of L pīca jay, magpie, with ref. to its omnivorous feeding
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pi·ca 1   (pī'kə)   
n.  

    1. A printer's unit of type size, equal to 12 points or about 1/6 of an inch.

    2. An equivalent unit of composition measurement used in determining the dimensions of lines, illustrations, or printed pages.

  2. A type size for typewriters, providing ten characters to the inch.


[Probably from Medieval Latin pīca, list of church services (perhaps from the typeface used to print it).]
pi·ca 2   (pī'kə)   
n.  An abnormal craving or appetite for nonfood substances, such as dirt, paint, or clay.

[New Latin pīca, from Latin, magpie (from its omnivorous nature).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pica  (1)
"size of type of about six lines to the inch" (12 point), 1588, probably from M.L. pica, name of a book of rules in Church of England for determining holy days (1497, in Anglo-L.), probably from L. pica "magpie;" the book so called perhaps from the color and the "pied" look of the old type on close-printed pages. The type size was that generally used to print ordinals.

pica  (2)
"pathological craving for substance unfit for food" (such as chalk), 1563, from M.L. pica "magpie," probably translating Gk. kissa, kitta "magpie, jay," also "false appetite." The connecting notion may be the birds' indiscriminate feeding.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pi·ca
Pronunciation: 'pI-k&
Function: noun
: an abnormal craving for and eating of substances (as chalk, ashes, or bones) not normallyeaten that occurs in nutritional deficiency states (as aphosphorosis) in humans or animals or in some forms of mental illness —compare GEOPHAGY
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

pica pi·ca (pī'kə)
n.
An abnormal craving or appetite for nonfood substances, such as dirt, paint, or clay.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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