pike
/paɪk/ · noun
Meaning
- A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults.
- A sharp point, such as that of the weapon.
- A large haycock.
- Any carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Esox, especially the northern pike, Esox lucius.
- A position with the knees straight and a tight bend at the hips with the torso folded over the legs, usually part of a jack-knife.
- A pointy extrusion at the toe of a shoe.
- To prod, attack, or injure someone with a pike.
- To assume a pike position.
- To bet or gamble with only small amounts of money.
- Often followed by on or out: to quit or back out of a promise.
- Short for turnpike.
- A gypsy, itinerant tramp, or traveller from any ethnic background; a pikey.
- To equip with a turnpike.
- (thieves' cant) To depart or travel (as if by a turnpike), especially to flee, to run away.
Etymology / origin
No prose etymology has been added yet.
No ancestor words have been linked yet.
Related words
Descendant words
No descendant words have been linked yet.