/pik'euh resk"/ , adj.
1. pertaining to, characteristic of, or characterized by a form of prose fiction, originally developed in Spain, in which the adventures of an engagingly roguish hero are described in a series of usually humorous or satiric episodes that often depict, in realistic detail, the everyday life of the common people: picaresque novel; picaresque hero.
2. of, pertaining to, or resembling rogues.
[ 1800-10; picaresco. See PICARO, -ESQUE ]
Syn. 2. prankish, rascally, devilish, raffish.