pike1
n.
(pl. same)
a long-bodied predatory freshwater fish with long teeth.
[
Esox lucius and related species.]
▸used in names of similar predatory fish, e.g. garpike.
Etymology
ME: from pike2 (because of the fish's pointed jaw).
pike2
n.
- historical an infantry weapon with a pointed steel or iron head on a long wooden shaft.
- N. English (in the Lake District) a hill with a peaked top:
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Scafell Pike.
v.
historical thrust through or kill with a pike.
Etymology
C16: from Fr. pique, from piquer ‘pierce’, from pic ‘pick, pike’; sense 2 is appar. of Scand. origin.
pike4
n.
a jackknife position in diving or gymnastics.
Etymology
1920s: of unknown origin.
pike5
v.
Austral./NZ informal -
(pike out)
withdraw from or go back on (a plan, commitment, or agreement).
-
(pike on)
let (someone) down.
Etymology
ME (as pike oneself ‘take up a pilgrim's staff’): cf. Dan. pigge af ‘hasten off’.
