pikë

Etymology

Compare pik (“to drip, leak”).^[1] Compare also Romanian pic (“a drop of water, a bit”)^[2] and Sicilian picca (“a bit, a little”).

Noun

pikë f (plural pika, definite pika, definite plural pikat)

1. drop, droplet (of liquid)

   deri në pikën e fundit të gjakut ― till the last drop of blood; to the death

2. (figurative) a small amount, a little, a bit (also in negative sentences)

   A ke një pikë uji? ― Do you have a little water?

   mbeti asnjë pikë ― not even a little bit left

   pa pikë turpi ― without the slightest bit of shame

   pa pikë dyshimi ― without the slightest amount of doubt

   • 1873, Girolamo de Rada, Canti di Milosao, canto 2, page 18, line 18:

     vaiζ my jep ti gnύ pic uij?

     [vajzë, më jep ti një pikë uji?]

     girl, will you give me a drop of water?

3. hole, leak (in a roof)
4. dot, spot

   pikë e zezë ― black dot

   pikë e kuqe ― red dot

   pulë me pika ― chiken with spots; spotted chicken

   fustan me pika ― dress with spots; spotted dress

5. freckle, mole, birthmark

   fytyrë me pika ― face with freckles; freckled face

6. (typography) point, (by itself) period, full stop

   pika dhe presja ― semicolon (literally, “the point and the comma”)

   dy pika ― colon (literally, “two points”)

   pikë çuditëse ― exclamation point

7. (mathematics) point, decimal point

   dhjetë pikë pesë ― ten point five = 10.5

8. (music) point (at the right of a note, raises its value by a half)
9. (geometry) point (zero-dimensional object)
10. (medicine) stroke (often in curses)

    Të rëntë pika! ― May you have a stroke!

References

Further reading

• “pikë”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎, 1980
• Newmark, L. (1999) “pikë”, in Oxford Albanian-English Dictionary‎