pike

Meanings

Noun

• A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults.
• A sharp point, such as that of the weapon.
• A large haycock.
• Any carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Esox, especially the northern pike, Esox lucius.
• A position with the knees straight and a tight bend at the hips with the torso folded over the legs, usually part of a jack-knife.
• A pointy extrusion at the toe of a shoe.
• Especially in place names: a hill or mountain, particularly one with a sharp peak or summit.
• A pick, a pickaxe.
• A hayfork.
• A penis.
• A style of shoes with long toes, very popular in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.
• A gypsy, itinerant tramp, or traveller from any ethnic background; a pikey.

Verb

• To prod, attack, or injure someone with a pike.
• To assume a pike position.
• To bet or gamble with only small amounts of money.
• Often followed by on or out: to quit or back out of a promise.
• To equip with a turnpike.
• To depart or travel (as if by a turnpike), especially to flee, to run away.

Related

Similar words

• ged
• see northern pike

Origin

• From Middle English pyke, pyk, pik, pike, from Old English pīc ("pointed object, pick axe"), and Middle French pique ("long thrusting weapon"), from Old French pic ("sharp point, spike"); both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz, *pīkō, related to pick with a narrower meaning.
• The word is cognate with Middle Dutch pecke, peke, picke (modern Dutch piek), German Pike, Norwegian pik, and possibly Old Irish pīk. It is a pique.
• The diving or gymnastics position is probably from tapered appearance of the body when the position is executed.
• The carnivorous freshwater fish is probably derived from the “sharp point, spike” senses, due to the fish’s pointed jaws.
• The verb sense “to quit or back out of a promise” may be from the sense of taking up pilgrim's staff or pike and leaving on a pilgrimage;
• Short form of turnpike
• Noun sense 2 (“gypsy, itinerant tramp, or traveller”) and verb sense 2 (“to depart, travel, especially to flee, run away”) may refer to someone frequently using turnpikes, or may be derived from Middle English piken ("to go, remove oneself").