[ˈpiː.kʊs], [ˈpiː.kus]
OrigoFrom Proto-Italic *pikos, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peyk- (“woodpecker; magpie”), whence also Latin pīca (“magpie”).
Romance evidence points to a form with -cc-, perhaps onomatopoeic and/or influenced by Vulgar Latin *pīccāre (“to strike, sting, peck”) and/or Proto-Germanic *pikkōną (“to pick, peck, prick”). Cf. Vulgar Latin *pīcca (“pick-axe”).
Cognate with Umbrian peico (acc.sg.), Sanskrit पिक (piká, “cuckoo”), German Specht (“woodpecker”), Swedish spett (“crowbar, skewer; kind of woodpecker”).
- declension-2woodpecker
- declension-2griffin
Formaepīcus(canonical, masculine) · pīcī(genitive) · pīcus(nominative, singular) · pīcī(nominative, plural) · pīcī(genitive, singular) · pīcōrum(genitive, plural) · pīcō(dative, singular) · pīcīs(dative, plural) · pīcum(accusative, singular) · pīcōs(accusative, plural) · pīcō(ablative, singular) · pīcīs(ablative, plural) · pīce(singular, vocative) · pīcī(plural, vocative) · pīccus(alternative) · pīcca(alternative)
Fons: Vicitionarium