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pique-nique

picnic

noun peek-NEEK Rare

Usage Note

Pique-nique is written with a hyphen and its plural is pique-niques. The derived verb is pique-niquer ('to picnic'). The word likely came from French piquer ('to pick') + nique (trivial thing), though it may have been borrowed back from English. Outdoor picnics are deeply embedded in French leisure culture.

Examples

"On organise un pique-nique dimanche prochain."

Natural Translation

We're organising a picnic next Sunday.

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