pica

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: pi=ca

CIDE DICTIONARY

pica, n. [L. pica a pie, magpie; in sense 3 prob. named from some resemblance to the colors of the magpie. Cf. Pie magpie.].

•  The genus that includes the magpies.  [1913 Webster]
•  A vitiated appetite that craves what is unfit for food, as chalk, ashes, coal, etc.; chthonophagia.  [1913 Webster]
•  A service-book. See Pie.  [1913 Webster]
•  A size of type next larger than small pica, and smaller than English.  [1913 Webster]

  " This line is printed in pica"  [1913 Webster]

  " Pica is twice the size of nonpareil, and is used as a standard of measurement in casting leads, cutting rules, etc., and also as a standard by which to designate several larger kinds of type, as double pica, two-line pica, four-line pica, and the like."  [1913 Webster]

  " This line is printed in small pica"  [1913 Webster]

Small pica (Print.), a size of type next larger than long primer, and smaller than pica.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

pica, n. Printing 1 a unit of type-size (1/6 inch).
2 a size of letters in typewriting (10 per inch).

pica, n. Med. the eating of substances other than normal food.

Etymology

mod.L or med.L, = magpie

THESAURUS

pica

analgesia, anesthesia, anxiety equivalent, ascender, back, bastard type, beard, belly, bevel, black letter, body, cap, capital, case, counter, depraved appetite, descender, em, en, face, fat-faced type, feet, font, groove, italic, letter, ligature, logotype, lower case, majuscule, minuscule, neurasthenia, nick, paresthesia, parorexia, pi, point, print, roman, sans serif, script, shank, shoulder, small cap, small capital, speech abnormality, stamp, stem, type, type body, type class, type lice, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, upper case