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pica1

Syllabification: (pi·ca)

Pronunciation: /ˈpīkə/

Definition of pica

noun

Printing

a unit of type size and line length equal to 12 points (about 1/ 6 inch or 4.2 mm).
a size of letter in typewriting, with 10 characters to the inch (about 3.9 to the centimeter).

Origin:

late 16th century: from Anglo-Latin pica (literally 'magpie'), commonly identified with a 15th-century book of rules about ecclesiastical feasts, but no edition of such a pica printed in “pica” type is known