picket
UK[ˈpɪkɪt]US[ˈpɪkɪt]
n
A pointed wooden or metal stake driven into the ground to form a fence, mark a boundary, or tether an animal.
n
A person or group of people stationed outside a workplace or other venue to protest, persuade others not to enter, or publicize a dispute.
v
To act as or station a picket outside a workplace or other venue.
Etymology
The word 'picket' entered English in the late 17th century from the French 'piquet', meaning a pointed stake or peg. This French term derived from the verb 'piquer', meaning 'to pierce or prick', which itself has origins in the Vulgar Latin 'piccare', a frequentative form related to the Latin 'picus' (woodpecker), an agent of piercing. The literal sense of a sharpened stake naturally extended to military use for a small patrol or guard (mid-18th century), from the idea of a pointed post used as a sentry station or a small, pointed group of soldiers. This concept of a small, vigilant group was then metaphorically transferred in the 19th century to describe strikers stationed outside a workplace, emphasizing their role as a pointed, demonstrative barrier.
Analysis
The word is a simplex loanword from French. Its spelling and core morphemes are not productively segmentable in modern English.
Examples
The garden was bordered by a white picket fence.
Union members formed a picket line outside the factory gates.
The workers voted to picket the store until their demands were met.