pica

Meanings

1. A disorder characterized by appetite and craving for non-edible substances, such as chalk, clay, dirt, ice, or sand.
2. A magpie.

1. A size of type between small pica and English, now standardized as 12-point.
2. A font of this size.
3. A unit of length equivalent to 12 points, officially ³⁵⁄₈₃ cm (0.166 in) after 1886 but now (computing) ¹⁄₆ in.
4. A pie or directory: the book directing Roman Catholic observance of saints' days and other feasts under various calendars.

1. Archaic form of pika (“small lagomorph”).

1. Abbreviation of phenolic impregnated carbon ablator.
2. Initialism of posterior inferior cerebellar artery.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pīca (“jay; magpie”). Doublet of pie (“magpie”). * (pathology): From the idea that magpies will eat almost anything.