Flatpick

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. To play a guitar or similar instrument by strumming with a small plectrum rather than the fingers ; a thin, flat plastic or metal plectrum held between the thumb and finger
2. Strumming a stringed instrument using a small plectrum instead of bare fingers ; a small, flat, triangular piece of plastic used to pluck the strings
3. To pluck or strum strings with a handheld plectrum in a fast, precise style ; the small, flat implement that a player holds to make the strings sound

Etymology: The word "flatpick" is a back-formation from "flatpicking," the name of a guitar technique in which the player strikes the strings with a flat plectrum held between the thumb and fingers rather than with the fingers themselves. Back-formation works in reverse: speakers take a longer word, here "flatpicking," and treat its ending as if it were a suffix to strip away, leaving a new, shorter base. Here the "-ing" was removed to yield a verb, and the same logic produced the noun for the small pick itself. The "flat" in both words refers to the shape of the plectrum, which is thinner and broader than the rounded or pointed picks used in other styles. The compound therefore describes a technique by its tool. Because the instrument shaped the name, the name for the pick and for the method of playing it developed in parallel, with the shorter forms following from the longer one.