noun · countable / uncountable · rare

pica

pica · picas

спотворення смаку

пика

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

/ˈpaɪkə/

Meaning

6 senses

(uncountable, usually)A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
пика́piká
спотво́рення сма́куspotvórennja smáku
(countable)A magpie.
(uncountable)A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point.
(uncountable, usually)A font of this size.
(countable)A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in.
(countable, uncommon, uncountable)A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars.

More definitions

magpies
an eating disorder, frequent in children, in which non-nutritional objects are eaten persistently
a linear unit (1/6 inch) used in printing

Translations

5 languages

Українська

By meaning 1

disorder:

Русский

By meaning 1

disorder:

Origin

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”). From Medieval Latin

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”).

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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