Piking

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Characterized by a form of movement that involves a sharp upward motion or a thrusting action
2. Referring to the act of pricking or puncturing something with a pointed object
3. Describing a state of being alert and aware, often associated with quick reflexes or readiness

Etymology: "Piking" is the form of "pike" used for the verb and noun senses meaning pricking with a point, and the word's roots run back to a single Germanic image of a sharp point. Old English "pīc" meant a pointed object or a pickaxe, and it passed into Middle English as "pyke" and "pike," covering spears, the iron tips of staffs, and even the pointed toes of shoes. The same stock gave German "Pike," Dutch "piek," and Danish "pig," all keeping the sense of a spike. The word also has a twin in English. Through Middle French "pique," a long thrusting weapon, the same ancestor produced "pique," so "pike" and "pique" are doublets, one arriving from Old English and the other through French. Both retain the notion of something sharp pressed into something else.