pica(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

Question

I found six distinct meanings for the Spanish word "pica" in my Collins Desktop dictionary. Ranging from "magpie" to "ticket inspector", none fit the sentence I read on page 235 of my edition of La sombra del viento.

So I turned to the Diccionario de la lengua española on Real Academia Española.website. Still no luck:-(

The sentence, (with a bit of context,) reads:

Negué y salí a escape rumbo al servicio.

Me lavé la cara con el agua helada de la pica ...

The context suggests a fountain, a spigot a basin ... But what is it? and why should I not be able to find this word in a dictionary?

Thanks

Answer 1

Try a search for pica / sink

Yes, I figure it must mean "sink" or something similar...but do not find sink listed either. - Janice, Dec 13, 2010

Answer 2

This site is a little hard to follow but there are a few references to pica meaning sink on it Pica = Sink

Answer 3

It definitely seems like "pica" means sink (kitchen sink, specifically) - somewhere. I had never heard the word before, and indeed it does not appear on any dictionary, so it appears to be a rather regional use. I just haven't figured out where.

If you look at this page, however, you'll see a photograph of a kitchen sink under "picas y grifos". Looking around the web for a bit confirms that this is what the word means in the given context.

Ah...a picture! From a catalogue that we can suppose people really use. But why oh why is not this common word in a common dictionary....? Thanks. - Janice, Dec 16, 2010

Answer 4

Pica I think would be sink so try searching that

How did you know that pica means sink such that one could search for "sink", and perhaps find "pica" ?? - Janice, Dec 14, 2010

Answer 5

At the site [Webster's Online Dictionary with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation][1] I found the following (note that "sink" is not one of the given entries):

pica (pica, cícero, spike, malacia), pike (lucio, pica, garrocha, chuzo). Consider also: pick (picar, escoger, cosecha), picks (pica, corte, despluma), itch (picazón, sarna, comezón), dive (bucear, zambullirse, picado), allotriophagy (pica, malacia), cut (cortar, partir, segar), chop (chuleta, corte, tajar), nosedive (picado, descender en picado, caída de narices). Additional references: Spanish, Spain. (volunteer & more translations)

But I did see this up at the top of the page: Spanish: cícero, kitchen sink.

I am baffled because I cannot seem to find this in normal dictionaries. Here, for example, the entry from the Vicon Spanish-English dictionary:

pica (f) n. magpie, long-tailed black-and-white bird with a chattering call and mischievous habits; pike; goad, device used to urge an animal in a certain direction; pique, resentment; trail, track; spades; inspector

Is this usage (sink) so rare?

[1]: http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/Spanish/pica?cx=partner-pub-0939450753529744:v0qd01-tdlq&cof=FORID:9&ie=UTF-8&q=pica&searchtype=Definitions Only&doc=1