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Pike

 - 18 dictionary results

pike

1  [pahyk]
Use Pike in a Sentence
–noun, plural (especially collectively) pike, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) pikes.
1. any of several large, slender, voracious freshwater fishes of the genus Esox, having a long, flat snout: the blue pike of the Great Lakes is now extinct.
2. any of various superficially similar fishes, as the walleye or pikeperch.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME; so called from its pointed snout (see pike 5 )

Related forms:
pikelike, adjective

pike

2  [pahyk] noun, verb, piked, pik⋅ing.
–noun
1. a shafted weapon having a pointed head, formerly used by infantry.
–verb (used with object)
2. to pierce, wound, or kill with or as with a pike.
Origin:
1505–15; < MF pique, fem. var. of pic pick 2 < Gmc. See pike 5 , pique 1

pike

3  [pahyk]
–noun
1. a toll road or highway; turnpike road.
2. a turnpike or tollgate.
3. the toll paid at a tollgate.
—Idiom
4. come down the pike, Informal. to appear or come forth: the greatest idea that ever came down the pike.
Origin:
1820–30, Americanism; short for turnpike

pike

4  [pahyk]
–noun Chiefly British.
a hill or mountain with a pointed summit.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; special use of pike 5 ; cf. OE hornpīc pinnacle

pike

5  [pahyk]
–noun
1. a sharply pointed projection or spike.
2. the pointed end of anything, as of an arrow or a spear.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME pik pick, spike, (pilgrim's) staff, OE pīc pointed tool. See pick 2

pike

6  [pahyk]
–verb (used without object), piked, pik⋅ing. Older Slang.
to go, leave, or move along quickly.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME pyke (reflexive); perh. orig. to equip oneself with a walking stick. See pike 5

pike

7  [pahyk]
–noun Diving, Gymnastics.
a body position, resembling a V shape, in which the back and head are bent forward and the legs lifted and held together, with the hands touching the feet or backs of the knees or the arms extended sideways. Compare layout (def. 10), tuck 1 (def. 13).
Origin:
1955–60; perh. special use of pike 1

Pike

  [pahyk]
–noun
1. James Albert, 1913–69, U.S. Protestant Episcopal clergyman, lawyer, and author.
2. Zeb⋅u⋅lon Montgomery  [zeb-yoo-luhn] , 1779–1813, U.S. general and explorer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Pike
pike 1   (pīk)   
n.  A long spear formerly used by infantry.
tr.v.   piked, pik·ing, pikes
To attack or pierce with a pike.

[French pique, from Old French, from piquer, to prick; see pique.]
piked adj.
pike 2   (pīk)   
n.   pl. pike or pikes

  1. A freshwater game and food fish (Esox lucius) of the Northern Hemisphere that has a long snout and attains a length of over 1.2 meters (4 feet). Also called northern pike.

  2. Any of various similar or related fishes.


[Middle English, perhaps from Old English pīc, sharp point (from its shape).]
pike 3   (pīk)   
n.  

  1. A turnpike.

    1. A tollgate on a turnpike.

    2. A toll paid.

intr.v.   piked, pik·ing, pikes
To move quickly.

[Short for turnpike.]
pike 4   (pīk)   
n.   Chiefly British
A hill with a pointed summit.

[Middle English, possibly of Scandinavian origin.]
pike 5   (pīk)   
n.  A spike or sharp point, as on the tip of a spear.

[Middle English, from Old English pīc.]
pike 6   (pīk)   
n.  A mid-air position in sports such as diving and gymnastics in which the athlete bends to touch the feet or grab the calves or back of the thighs while keeping the legs together and straight.

[Perhaps from pike2.]
Pike   (pīk)   
American army officer and explorer noted for his expedition up the Arkansas River to the Rocky Mountains (1806-1807). Pikes Peak is named for him.
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

pike  (1)
"highway," 1837 shortening of turnpike (q.v.). Originally it meant the toll booth; it came to mean the road itself 1852.

pike  (2)
"weapon," c.1511, from M.Fr. pique "a spear, pikeman," from piquer "to pick, prick, pierce," from O.Fr. pic "sharp point or spike," perhaps ult. from a Gmc. or Celtic source. Alternate explanation traces O.Fr. word to L. picus "woodpecker." Also developed from O.E. pic "pointed object, pickaxe." Pike, pick, and pitch were formerly used indifferently in Eng. Pike position in diving, gymnastics, etc., attested from 1928, on same notion as jack-knife.

pike  (3)
"voracious freshwater fish," 1314, probably short for pike-fish, a special use of pike (2) in reference to the fish's long, pointed jaw (cf. Fr. brochet "pike" (fish), from broche "a roasting spit").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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