pike

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a long-bodied predatory freshwater fish, or a long-shafted spear

   The angler hooked a large pike in the reeds.

Simplified etymology

Pike is recorded in Old English for a pickaxe or pointed implement, with pick developing as a variant form. The freshwater fish was named in Middle English for its long, pointed jaw, likened to the weapon called a pike. The weapon name, though fundamentally related to the older word, entered English in the 16th century through French piquer, “to pierce.”

In the weapon sense from Middle French pique ('a pike, pointed weapon'), from piquer ('to prick'); the fish is so named for its pointed, pike-like jaw, from Old English pic ('pointed object').

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary