Piciform, pis′i-form, adj. like to, or relating to, the woodpecker.
Pick, pik, v.t. to prick with a sharp-pointed instrument: to peck, as a bird: to pierce: to open with a pointed instrument, as a lock: to pluck or gather, as flowers, &c.: to separate or pull apart: to clean with the teeth: to gather: to choose: to select: to call: to seek, as a quarrel: to steal.—v.i. to do anything carefully: to eat by morsels.—n. any sharp-pointed instrument, esp. for loosening and breaking up hard soil, &c.: a picklock: foul matter collecting on printing-types, &c.: right or opportunity of first choice.—n. Pick′-cheese, the blue titmouse: the fruit of the mallow.—adj. Picked (pikt), selected, hence the choicest or best: having spines or prickles, sharp-pointed.—ns. Pick′edness; Pick′er, one who picks or gathers up: one who removes defects from and finishes electrotype plates: a pilferer; Pick′ing, the act of picking, selecting, gathering, pilfering: that which is left to be picked: dabbing in stone-working: the final finishing of woven fabrics by removing burs, &c.: removing defects from electrotype plates; Pick′lock, an instrument for picking or opening locks; Pick′-me-up, a stimulating drink; Pick′pocket, one who picks or steals from other people's pockets; Pick′-purse, one who steals the purse or from the purse of another.—adj. Pick′some, given to picking and choosing.—n. Pick′-thank, an officious person who does what he is not desired to do in order to gain favour: a flatterer: a parasite.—v.t. to gain favour by unworthy means.—Pick a hole in one's coat, to find fault with one; Pick a quarrel, to find an occasion of quarrelling; Pick at, to find fault with; Pick fault, to seek occasions of fault-finding; Pick oakum, to make oakum by untwisting old ropes; Pick off, to aim at and kill or wound, as with a rifle; Pick one's way, to move carefully; Pick out, to make out: to mark with spots of colour, &c.; Pick to pieces, to tear asunder: to damage, as character; Pick up, to improve gradually: to gain strength bit by bit: to take into a vehicle, or into one's company: to get as if by chance.—adj. gathered together by chance. [Celt., as Gael. pioc, to pick, W. pigo; cf. Pike.]
Pickaback, pik′a-bak, adv. on the back like a pack.—Also Pick′back, Pick′apack.
Pickaxe, pik′aks, n. a picking tool, with a point at one end of the head and a cutting blade at the other, used in digging. [M. E. pikois—O. Fr. picois, a mattock, piquer, to pierce, pic, a pick—Celt.]
Pickeer, pi-kēr′, v.i. (obs.) to act as a skirmisher.—n. Pickeer′er.
Pickerel, pik′e-rel, n. an American pike: a wading bird, the dunlin. [Pike + er + el.]
Picket, pik′et, n. a pointed stake used in fortification: a small outpost or guard stationed in front of an army: a number of men sent out by a trades-union to prevent others from working against the wishes or decisions of the union: a game at cards: a punishment inflicted by making a person stand on one foot on a pointed stake.—v.i. to fasten to a stake, as a horse: to post a vanguard: to place a picket at or near.—ns. Pick′et-fence, a fence of pickets or pales; Pick′et-guard, a guard kept in readiness in case of alarm. [Fr. piquet, dim. of pic, a pickaxe.]
Pickle, pik′l, n. a liquid of salt and water in which flesh and vegetables are preserved: vinegar, &c., in which articles of food are preserved: anything pickled: a disagreeable position: (coll.) a troublesome child.—v.t. to season or preserve with salt, vinegar, &c.—ns. Pick′le-herr′ing, a pickled herring: (obs.) a merry-andrew; Pick′le-worm, the larva of a pyralid moth.—Have a rod in pickle, to have a punishment ready. [M. E. pikil, prob. pick-le; Dut. pekel; Ger. pökel.]
Pickle, pik′l, n. (Scot.) a small quantity.—v.t. and v.i. to eat sparingly: to pilfer.
Pickwickian, pik-wik′i-an, adj. relating to or resembling Mr Pickwick, the hero of Dickens's Pickwick Papers.—In a Pickwickian sense, in a merely hypothetical sense—a phrase by which the members of the Pickwick Club explained away unparliamentary language.