Pike
/paɪk/noun
A long-bladed thrusting weapon or a pointed spear; also a long-snouted freshwater fish.
Did you know?The weapon sense of pike was used in European infantry warfare for centuries, while the fish name likely comes from its pointed snout, showing how language often names living things by blade-like shape.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*peik-
“to prick, cut, or point”
Latin
Latin
picus
“pointed or sharp (source of related Romance forms)”
Old French
Old French
pique
“a pike, spear, or pointed weapon”
Middle English
English
pike
“a spear with a long shaft and pointed head”
Modern English
English
pike
“a long thrusting spear; also a fish with a pointed snout”