Definition of "pica" []

• A printer's unit of type size, equal to 12 points or about 1/6 of an inch. (noun)
• An equivalent unit of composition measurement used in determining the dimensions of lines, illustrations, or printed pages. (noun)
• A type size for typewriters, providing ten characters to the inch. (noun)
• An abnormal craving or appetite for nonfood substances, such as dirt, paint, or clay. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That's because, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "pie" - defined as a baked dish topped with and sometimes also surrounded by pastry - may well derive from the Latin word pica, meaning magpie."
• ""The new message is sent to the Bot class to create a new robot and associate with it the name pica := is for assignment""
• "Children who are iron deficient will eat dirt, a condition known as pica, in an attempt to get what their body needs."