Emily Dickinson Lexicon

pick (-ed, -ing), v. [Collateral form of OE pike, etymology obscure.] (webplay: fingers, grows, lock, pocket, slowly, small, steal, tree).

1. Pluck; harvest; gather; [fig.] enjoy; relish; savor; experience; derive pleasure from.
2. Select; choose; decide on; [pun on “pick a lock”; see definition “C”.]
3. Undo secretively; open clandestinely.
4. Empty; dip into; clean out; divest of valuable contents; steal from; filch from; pilfer from; snatch from.
5. Phrase. “Pick up”: recover; retrieve; take hold of; grasp and lift upwards in order to inspect. 1147/1149
6. Phrase. “Pick up”: liven up; become active; begin to be busy.

pictorial, adj. [Late L. pictōri-us < pictor, painter.]

Idealized; picturesque; more attractive; exaggeratedly desirable; unrealistically perfect, as in a painting.

picture (-s), n. [L. pictūra, painting.] (webplay: beauty, clearly, drawing, eye, face, friend, other, paint, poet, power).

1. Painting; portrait; drawing; artistic representation.
2. Scene; view; landscape; visual image.
3. Idea; thought; abstraction; mental image; figurative concept.
4. Masterpiece; superb work of art; masterful representation of beauty.
5. Likeness; countenance; image; face.

picturesque, adj. [Fr. pittoresque < It. pittoresco < L. pictōr-em, painter + -esque, in the style of.] (webplay: friend).

Striking; graphic; explicit; vivid; memorable; [fig.] shocking; incredible; astonishing; unbelievable.

picturesque, n. [see picturesque, adj.] (webplay: child).

Imagination; fantasy; creativity; make-believe; daydream; belief in the unseen.

piece (-s), n. [ME pece < OFr.] (webplay: knowledge, part).

1. Fragment; bit; splinter; shard.
2. Portion; part; [fig.] life; fate; autonomy; independence; [word play] peace.

piece (-d), v. [see piece, n.]

Extend; stretch; prolong; expand; patch; make longer by adding a fragment to.

pier (-s), n. [ME per < L. pera.] (webplay: bridge, building, house, windows).

1. Support; foundation; solid structure which holds up an arch or bridge.
2. Landing; breakwater; jetty; mass of stone work projecting into the sea for breaking the force of the waves and making a safe harbor.
3. [Fig.] veil; boundary between mortality and immortality; division between life and death.
4. [Fig.] place for the renowned.

pierce (-s), v. [OFr percer.] (webplay: body, column, heart, keenness, passions, shot, sword).

1. Stab; run through; lacerate; penetrate.
2. [Fig.] pang; hurt; agonize; torment; afflict; inflict pain (on); penetrate with acute mental or emotional pain.
3. [Fig.] impact; influence; leave a mark on.

piercing, adv. [see pierce, v.]

Painfully; acutely; frighteningly; uncomfortably; unpleasantly.