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Pike

 [pahyk]   Origin

pike

1   [pahyk]
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; Middle English; so called from its pointed snout (see pike5)

Related forms
pike·like, adjective

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Pike is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

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; < Middle French pique, feminine variant of pic pick2 < Germanic. See pike5, pique1

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; Middle English; special use of pike5; compare Old English 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:
before 900; Middle English pik pick, spike, (pilgrim's) staff, Old English pīc pointed tool. See pick2

pike

6   [pahyk]
verb (used without object), piked, pik·ing. Older Slang.
to go, leave, or move along quickly.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English pyke (reflexive); perhaps orig. to equip oneself with a walking stick. See pike5

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), tuck1 (def. 13).
Origin:
1955–60; perhaps special use of pike1

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. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Pike
Collins
World English Dictionary
pike1 (paɪk)
 
—n , pl pike, pikes
1.  any of several large predatory freshwater teleost fishes of the genus Esox, esp E. lucius (northern pike), having a broad flat snout, strong teeth, and an elongated body covered with small scales: family Esocidae
2.  any of various similar fishes
 
[C14: short for pikefish, from Old English pīc point, with reference to the shape of its jaw]

pike2 (paɪk)
 
—n
1.  a medieval weapon consisting of an iron or steel spearhead joined to a long pole, the pikestaff
2.  a point or spike
 
—vb
3.  (tr) to stab or pierce using a pike
 
[Old English pīc point, of obscure origin]

pike3 (paɪk)
 
—n
short for turnpike

pike4 (paɪk)
 
—n
dialect (Northern English) a pointed or conical hill
 
[Old English pīc, of obscure origin]

pike or piked5 (paɪk, paɪkt)
 
—adj
(of the body position of a diver) bent at the hips but with the legs straight
 
[C20: of obscure origin]
 
piked or piked5
 
—adj
 
[C20: of obscure origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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

pike
"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. Alternative 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.
COLLAPSE

pike
"voracious freshwater fish," early 14c., 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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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