PICA • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Pica

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noun

Pica n.

(Zool.) The genus that includes the magpies.

(Med.) A vitiated appetite that craves what is unfit for food, such as clay, chalk, ashes, coal, etc.; chthonophagia.

Synonyms: allotriophagy.

(R. C. Ch.) A service-book. See Pie. (Obs.)

(Print.) A size of type next larger than small pica, and smaller than English. Note: This line is printed in pica Note: 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.

Small pica (Print.), a size of type next larger than long primer, and smaller than pica. Note: This line is printed in small pica

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Etymology of 'Pica'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Pica" Quotes from Famous Books

... fatality papa alas amuse canine fatigue parasol algebra apparatus China lapel pica alkali area data massacre sacrament amass ...

— Orthography - As Outlined in the State Course of Study for Illinois • Elmer W. Cavins

... worn plates, but in size and even in cut of type they are generally irreproachable. As regards nearsighted readers, it is well known that they prefer fine type to coarse, choosing, for instance, a Bible printed in diamond, and finding it clear and easy to read, while they can hardly read pica at all. This fact, in connection with the former tolerance of fine print, raises the question whether the world was not more nearsighted two generations ago than it is now; or does this only mean that the oculist is abroad in ...

— The Booklover and His Books • Harry Lyman Koopman

... through centuries. Many of the Peruvian deposits must be extremely old, as they are covered up with sand and other debris, and are of considerable depth. Especially is this the case with deposits occurring on the mainland, such as those at Pabellon de Pica, where the layer of sand or conglomerate covering up the deposit varies in depth from a few feet to over a hundred. The effect of this superficial covering has been to protect the guano, to a certain ...

— Manures and the principles of manuring • Charles Morton Aikman

Words linked to "Pica" : geophagia, point, genus Pica, family Corvidae, Pica pica, inch, in, linear measure, bird genus, pica-pica, linear unit, eating disorder