Dictionary

piqué en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpiːkeɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /piˈkeɪ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Borrowed from French piqué (“(noun) ribbed fabric; (ballet) step on to the point of the leading foot without bending the knee; (adjective) backstitched; (cooking) larded”), Middle French piqué (“quilted”), a noun use of the past participle of piquer (“to prick, sting; to decorate with stitches; to quilt; to stitch (fabric) together; to lard (meat)”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A kind of corded or ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.
   • I found three piqué shirts, each a shade lighter than the one before it, and each so fine and closely woven it shone like satin. 1998, Sarah Waters, Tipping the Velvet, Virago (2018), page 269:
2. (countable, qualifier:ballet) A movement in which the raised, pointed foot of the working leg is lowered so that it pricks the floor and then either rebounds upward or becomes a supporting foot.

Forms

Synonyms

marcella

Translations (1)

es piqué (kind of corded or ribbed fabric)