English
picker
Picker comes from Middle English piker ‘a robber or pickpocket’, from piken ‘to pick at’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *pikkōną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*pikkōną‘to pick, peck, prick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*pikkōn‘to peck, strike’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*piccianreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500piken‘to pick at’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500pikeras pikere‘a robber or pickpocket’
- Englishearliest quotation 1913picker
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*pikkōną‘to pick, peck, prick’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*pikkōn‘to peck, strike’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*piccianreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500piken‘to pick at’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500pikeras pikere‘a robber or pickpocket’
- Englishearliest quotation 1913picker
Earliest quotation: 1913, Joseph Crosby Lincoln, New York: “That concertina was a wonder in its way. The…”
Formed from pick + -er
Proto-Indo-European *bew-
Proto-Germanic *pikkōną ‘to pick’
Proto-West Germanic *pikkōn ‘to peck’
Old English *piccian
Middle English piken ‘to pick at’
English pick
Linked words
through Old English *piccian
through Middle English piken ‘to pick at’
Today it means
noun A worker responsible for picking or retrieving ordered items, etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *pikkōną / picker