Revised 2006 More entries for "pique"

piquenoun1

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Forms
Frequency

Quotations

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Factsheet

What does the noun pique mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun pique, one of which is labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the noun pique?

About 0.2occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750	1.0
1760	0.93
1770	0.88
1780	0.86
1790	0.74
1800	0.68
1810	0.66
1820	0.62
1830	0.57
1840	0.52
1850	0.47
1860	0.42
1870	0.39
1880	0.37
1890	0.33
1900	0.3
1910	0.28
1920	0.25
1930	0.22
1940	0.21
1950	0.2
1960	0.19
1970	0.18
1980	0.18
1990	0.18
2000	0.17
2010	0.18

See frequency

How is the noun pique pronounced?

British English

/piːk/

peek

U.S. English

/pik/

peek

See pronunciation

Where does the noun pique come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1500s

The earliest known use of the noun pique is in the mid 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for pique is from 1532, in the writing of Thomas Cromwell, royal minister.

pique is a borrowing from French.

Etymons: French pique.

See etymology

Nearby entries

Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred, n.1937–
pipsyl, n.1946–
pipy, adj.¹1724–
pipy, adj.²1769–
piquable, adj.1860–
piquance, n.1867–
piquancy, n.1664–
piquant, n. & adj.1494–
piquantly, adv.1691–
piquantness, n.1648–
pique, n.¹1532–
pique, n.²1668–
pique, n.³1678
pique, n.⁴1748–1890
piqué, n.⁵ & adj.1807–
pique, v.¹1659–
pique, v.²1664–
piqué, v.³1846–
piqued, adj.¹1689–
piquéd, adj.²1960–
pique-devant, n.1587–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Entry history for pique, n.¹

pique, n.1 was revised in June 2006

pique, n.1 was last modified in July 2023

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into pique, n.1 in July 2023.

Earlier versions of pique, n.1 were published in:

OED First Edition (1907)

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OED Second Edition (1989)

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View pique, n.1 in Second Edition

Cite

Chicago

Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “,” , .

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MLA9

“” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, , .

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Citation details

Factsheet for pique, n.¹

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Nearby entries

Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred, n.1937–
pipsyl, n.1946–
pipy, adj.¹1724–
pipy, adj.²1769–
piquable, adj.1860–
piquance, n.1867–
piquancy, n.1664–
piquant, n. & adj.1494–
piquantly, adv.1691–
piquantness, n.1648–
pique, n.¹1532–
pique, n.²1668–
pique, n.³1678
pique, n.⁴1748–1890
piqué, n.⁵ & adj.1807–
pique, v.¹1659–
pique, v.²1664–
piqué, v.³1846–
piqued, adj.¹1689–
piquéd, adj.²1960–
pique-devant, n.1587–

Browse more nearby entries