pica Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun an eating disorder, frequent in children, in which non-nutritional objects are eaten persistently
noun a linear unit (1/6 inch) used in printing
em; pica em.
noun magpies
genus Pica.

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

(Zoöl.) The genus that includes the magpies.
(Med.) A vitiated appetite that craves what is unfit for food, as chalk, ashes, coal, etc.; chthonophagia.
(R. C. Ch.) A service-book. See Pie. Obs.
(Print.) A size of type next larger than small pica, and smaller than English. ✍ This line is printed in pica ✍ 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. ✍ This line is printed in small pica