I. ˈpīk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English pic, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Scottish Gaelic pic pickax, Breton pik, Irish Gaelic pice pitchfork, Welsh pig point, beak
1. dialect chiefly England : pick 2
2. : pikestaff 1
3. : a sharp point, pointed tip, or spike (as in the center of a buckler) : the tip of a spear
4. : the long pointed toe of a shoe worn in the 14th and 15th centuries : poulaine
5. dialect England : one of various sharp-pointed tools or implements (as a pitchfork)
the windrows are loaded on a wagon by hand with a pike — F.D.Smith & Barbara Wilcox
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English pyken to pike (oneself), perhaps from pike (I) pikestaff
1. : to leave abruptly : take off : depart
get lonely and sore, and pike out — Sinclair Lewis
2. : to make one's way — used with along
should he begin in a small way and pike along — Theodore Dreiser
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect pīk pointed mountain
1. dialect England : a mountain or hill having a peaked summit — used especially in place names
2. : a pile of hay or grain having a pointed top
3.
[Spanish pico, from picar to prick, pierce, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin piccare — more at pike VI]
archaic : peak II
IV. noun
( plural pike or pikes )
Etymology: Middle English, from pike (I) , from the shape of its head
1.
a. : an elongate long-snouted voracious teleost fish ( Esox lucius ) that reaches a length of four feet, is valued for food and sport, and is widely distributed in cooler parts of the northern hemisphere — called also northern pike
b. : a fish of the family Esocidae: as
(1) : muskellunge
(2) : pickerel
2. : any of various fishes of families other than Esocidae that are felt to resemble the pike in appearance or habits: as
a. : snook
b. : barracuda 1
c. : walleye 4
d. : sauger
e. : squawfish
V.
chiefly dialect
variant of pick
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French pique, from piquer to prick, pierce, nettle, pique, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin piccare, from (assumed) piccus woodpecker, from Latin picus — more at pie
1. : a weapon consisting of a long wooden shaft with a pointed steel head sometimes having a hook or pick on the side and used by the foot soldier until superseded by the bayonet
2. obsolete : pikeman
3. : the sharp-tipped staff on which a flag is carried
carried on a pike 9 feet, 10 inches long including the spear tip — W.F.Harris
VII. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to pierce, kill, or wound with or as if with a pike
2. : to thrust with or as if with a pike
VIII.
variant of pik
IX. ˈpīk noun
( -s )
Etymology: short for turnpike
1.
a.
(1) : a guarded entrance for the collection of tolls for the use of a road
(2) : a toll paid for the use of a road
b.
(1) : a usually publicly maintained road for direct travel from one place to another
water transportation was outmoded by railroads and good pikes — American Guide Series: Tennessee
(2) : turnpike 3
ridden the pikes enough to know the price of dozing off at the wheel — P.W.Kearney
2. : a railroad or model railroad line or system
railroading on … backwoods pikes — F.P.Donovan
X. noun
( -s )
Etymology: from Pike county, Missouri, whence they were first believed to have come to California
West : a migratory farmer — usually used disparagingly
XI. noun
( -s )
: a body position used in diving and gymnastics in which the hips are bent, the knees are straight, the head is pressed forward, and the hands touch the toes or clasp the legs behind and just above the knees — compare jackknife , tuck
XII. noun
•
- down the pike