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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

pica

/ˈpaɪkə/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does pica mean?

noun

  1. A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
  2. A magpie.
  3. A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point.
More meanings (6)

noun

  1. A font of this size.
  2. A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in.
  3. A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars.
  4. Abbreviation of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator.
  5. Initialism of posterior inferior cerebellar artery.
  6. (archaic) Archaic form of pika (“small lagomorph”).

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈpaɪkə/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

It was a folio, pro patria size, in pica, with long primer notes.
Benjamin FranklinThe Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinProject Gutenberg ebook #148
The habit of dirt eating or clay-eating, called pica, is well authenticated in many countries.
George M. (George Milbrey) Gould; Walter L. (Walter Lytle) PyleAnomalies and Curiosities of MedicineProject Gutenberg ebook #747
More book examples (1)
The common magpie (Corvus pica, Linn.), as I have been informed by the Rev. W. Darwin Fox, used to assemble from all parts of Delamere Forest, in order to celebrate the “great magpie marriage.”
Charles DarwinThe Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to SexProject Gutenberg ebook #2300