picnic

Where does the word "picnic" come from? It comes from French piquenique, and was adopted directly into English (1740s).

Picnic’s story begins in French: piquenique meant “a shared informal meal.” Possibly from piquer (to pick) and nique (a small thing), a meal of shared small contributions. It reached English by 1740s as picnic. Settled as the English word for an outdoor shared meal. Today, picnic means a meal eaten outdoors, typically packed and shared informally.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1600s piquenique "a shared informal meal", possibly from piquer (to pick) and nique (a small thing), a meal of shared small contributions.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1740s picnic "an outdoor meal, typically shared", settled as the English word for an outdoor shared meal.