Icepick

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A pointed handheld tool designed for breaking through ice is commonly used in food preparation and crafting, serving to chip away frozen materials as well as pierce through them
2. A small, sharp instrument utilized for breaking ice not only assists in preparing frozen food items but also performs piercing tasks on hard, icy surfaces
3. A handheld device with a pointed tip used to crack or chip ice by applying force

Etymology: The ice pick is a compound of "ice" and "pick," and the "pick" half is the older and more interesting one. "Pick" traces back to Old English "pic," a pointed tool, and it is related to the Middle English "pikois," a pointed instrument, before the word settled into its familiar sense of a tool for breaking up hard material. Pickaxes, toothpicks and the pick of a guitar all belong to the same family of pointed things, which is why the compound works so plainly: it names a sharp implement meant for ice. The word "ice" itself is ancient and has stayed almost unchanged in English for well over a thousand years, descending from Old English "is." Combining a simple, long-established noun with a tool name produced a transparent term that needed no special coinage, which explains why the word has never needed a dramatic backstory.

Synonyms: ice tool, ice chisel