English
piqué
Piqué comes from French piqué ‘(noun) ribbed fabric’, from piquer ‘to prick, sting’, and ultimately from Middle French picquer.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600picquer‘to sting’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpiquer‘to prick, sting’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentpiqué‘(noun) ribbed fabric’noun use of past participle of piquer
- Englishearliest quotation 1998same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600picquer‘to sting’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentpiquer‘to prick, sting’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentpiqué‘(noun) ribbed fabric’noun use of past participle of piquer
- Englishearliest quotation 1998same form
Earliest quotation: 1998, Sarah Waters, Tipping the Velvet: “I found three piqué shirts, each a shade lighter…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bew-
bill, pick, bowl, pocket, pose, purse, bulletin, buckle, pout, bouillon, bulla, pock, 15 more
through Frankish *pikkōn
through French piquer ‘to prick, sting’
through French piqué ‘(noun) ribbed fabric’
Today it means
noun A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French picquer / piqué