different between pique vs bitterness

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: p?k, IPA^(key): /pi?k/
• Homophones: peak, peek, peke
• Rhymes: -i?k

Etymology 1

From Middle French pique (“a prick, sting”), from Old French pic (“a sharp point”). Doublet of pike (“long pointed weapon”). Compare Spanish picar (“to sting”).

Noun

pique (countable and uncountable, plural piques)

1. A feeling of enmity; ill-feeling, animosity; a transient feeling of wounded pride.
   • 1667, Richard Allestree, The Causes of the Decay of Christian Piety

     Men take up piques - and displeasures at others.

   • 1854, Thomas De Quincey, On War

     Wars had arisen […] upon a personal pique.

2. A feeling of irritation or resentment, awakened by a social slight or injury; offence, especially taken in an emotional sense with little thought or consideration.
   • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 7:

     This defiance was not a fit of pique, but a matter of principle.

   • 1957, Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman, Sweet Smell of Success

     You think this is a personal thing with me? Are you telling me I think of this in terms of a personal pique?

3. (obsolete) Keenly felt desire; a longing.
   • 1684, Samuel Butler, Hudibras

     Though it have the pique, and long, / 'Tis still for something in the wrong.

Translations

Verb

pique (third-person singular simple present piques, present participle piquing, simple past and past participle piqued)

1. (transitive) To wound the pride of; to excite to anger.

   Synonyms: sting, nettle, irritate, fret

   • 1913, D. H. Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 11

2. (reflexive) To take pride in; to pride oneself on.

3. (transitive) To stimulate (a feeling, emotion); to offend by slighting; to excite (someone) to action by causing resentment or jealousy.

   Synonyms: excite, stimulate

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Prior to this entry?)

Translations

Etymology 2

From French pic.

Noun

pique (plural piques)

1. (card games) In piquet, the right of the elder hand to count thirty in hand, or to play before the adversary counts one.

Verb

pique (third-person singular simple present piques, present participle piquing, simple past and past participle piqued)

1. (card games, transitive) To score a pique against.

Etymology 3

From Spanish pique, from Central Quechua piki.

Noun

pique (plural piques)

1. A chigger or jigger, Tunga penetrans.

Etymology 4

From French piqué, past participle of piquer (“to prick, quilt”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi?ke?/

Noun

pique (countable and uncountable, plural piques)

1. A durable ribbed fabric made from cotton, rayon, or silk.

References

• “pique”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• Equip., equip, pequi

French

Etymology

Deverbal of piquer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pik/

Noun

pique f (plural piques)

1. pike, lance

pique m (plural piques)

1. (card games) spade (as a card suit)

Descendants

• ? German: Pik n

  ? Macedonian: ??? m (pik)

  ? Serbo-Croatian: m

  Cyrillic: ????

  Latin: p?k

  ? Slovene: pík

• ? Polish: pik m

Verb

pique

1. inflection of piquer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative
   2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   3. second-person singular imperative

See also

Further reading

• “pique” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Noun

pique f (plural piques)

1. Alternative form of picque

Portuguese

Etymology

From Middle French picque (“a prick, sting”), from Old French pic (“a sharp point”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pi.ki/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /?pi.ke/

Noun

pique m (plural piques)

1. any spear

   Synonyms: hasta, lança

2. or specifically a pike

   Synonym: chuço

3. hide-and-seek (game)

   Synonyms: esconde-esconde, pique-esconde

Derived terms

• a pique, ir a pique

Verb

pique

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of picar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of picar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of picar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of picar

Spanish

Etymology

From picar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pike/, [?pi.ke]

Noun

pique m (plural piques)

1. (card games) spade
2. downward movement
   1. jump, leap
3. hit, fix (of drugs)
4. rivalry, loggerheads
5. grudge match

Derived terms

Verb

pique

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of picar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of picar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of picar.

English

Etymology

From Middle English bitternesse, biternesse, from Old English biternes (“bitterness; grief”), equivalent to bitter +? -ness.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?t?n?s/

Noun

bitterness (countable and uncountable, plural bitternesses)

1. The quality of having a bitter taste.
2. The quality of feeling bitter; acrimony, resentment; the quality of exhibiting such feelings.

   She kept her bitterness about her mistreatment for the rest of her life.

   the bitterness of his words

3. The quality of eliciting a bitter feeling; humiliating, harsh.

   Nothing could assuage the bitterness of their defeat.

4. Harsh cold.

   The bitterness of the winter caught us all by surprise.

Synonyms

• (quality of being bitter in taste): acerbicness, acridity, acridness
• (quality of feeling bitter): acrimony, gall, rancor/rancour, resentment

Translations