Meaning of "picnic" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD PICNIC

From French piquenique, of unknown origin.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF PICNIC

picnic  [ˈpɪknɪk]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PICNIC

Picnic is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb picnic in English.

WHAT DOES PICNIC MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Picnic

A picnic is a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors, ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance, and usually in summer. Descriptions of picnics show that the idea of a meal that was jointly contributed and was enjoyed out-of-doors were essential to a picnic from the early 19th century. Picnics are often family-oriented but can also be an intimate occasion between two people or a large get-together such as company picnics and church picnics. It is also sometimes combined with a cookout, usually a form of barbecue; either grilling, braising, baking, or a combination of all of the above. On romantic and family picnics, a picnic basket and a blanket are usually brought along. Outdoor games or some other form of entertainment are common at large picnics. In established public parks, a picnic area generally includes picnic tables and possibly other items related to eating outdoors, such as built-in grills, water faucets, garbage containers, and restrooms.

Definition of picnic in the English dictionary

The first definition of picnic in the dictionary is a trip or excursion to the country, seaside, etc, on which people bring food to be eaten in the open air. Other definition of picnic is any informal meal eaten outside. Picnic is also a troublesome situation or experience.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO PICNIC

PRESENT

Present

I picnic

you picnic

he/she/it picnics

we picnic

you picnic

they picnic

Present continuous

I am picnicking

you are picnicking

he/she/it is picnicking

we are picnicking

you are picnicking

they are picnicking

Present perfect

I have picnicked

you have picnicked

he/she/it has picnicked

we have picnicked

you have picnicked

they have picnicked

Present perfect continuous

I have been picnicking

you have been picnicking

he/she/it has been picnicking

we have been picnicking

you have been picnicking

they have been picnicking

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I picnicked

you picnicked

he/she/it picnicked

we picnicked

you picnicked

they picnicked

Past continuous

I was picnicking

you were picnicking

he/she/it was picnicking

we were picnicking

you were picnicking

they were picnicking

Past perfect

I had picnicked

you had picnicked

he/she/it had picnicked

we had picnicked

you had picnicked

they had picnicked

Past perfect continuous

I had been picnicking

you had been picnicking

he/she/it had been picnicking

we had been picnicking

you had been picnicking

they had been picnicking

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will picnic

you will picnic

he/she/it will picnic

we will picnic

you will picnic

they will picnic

Future continuous

I will be picnicking

you will be picnicking

he/she/it will be picnicking

we will be picnicking

you will be picnicking

they will be picnicking

Future perfect

I will have picnicked

you will have picnicked

he/she/it will have picnicked

we will have picnicked

you will have picnicked

they will have picnicked

Future perfect continuous

I will have been picnicking

you will have been picnicking

he/she/it will have been picnicking

we will have been picnicking

you will have been picnicking

they will have been picnicking

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would picnic

you would picnic

he/she/it would picnic

we would picnic

you would picnic

they would picnic

Conditional continuous

I would be picnicking

you would be picnicking

he/she/it would be picnicking

we would be picnicking

you would be picnicking

they would be picnicking

Conditional perfect

I would have picnic

you would have picnic

he/she/it would have picnic

we would have picnic

you would have picnic

they would have picnic

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been picnicking

you would have been picnicking

he/she/it would have been picnicking

we would have been picnicking

you would have been picnicking

they would have been picnicking

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you picnic
we let´s picnic
you picnic

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to picnic

Past participle

picnicked

Present Participle

picnicking

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «PICNIC»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «picnic» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of picnic

barbecue · barbie · breeze · cakewalk · child´s play · cinch · clambake · cookout · duck soup · excursion · no-brainer · outing · piece of cake · pushover · snap · walkover

TRANSLATION OF PICNIC

Find out the translation of picnic to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of picnic from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «picnic» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 野餐
• Translator English - Spanish: comida campestre
• English: picnic
• Translator English - Hindi: पिकनिक
• Translator English - Arabic: نُزْهَةُ الأَكْل فِي الهَواءِ الطَّلْق
• Translator English - Russian: пикник
• Translator English - Portuguese: piquenique
• Translator English - Bengali: পিকনিক
• Translator English - French: pique-nique
• Translator English - Malay: Berkelah
• Translator English - German: Picknick
• Translator English - Japanese: ピクニック
• Translator English - Korean: 소풍
• Translator English - Javanese: Piknik
• Translator English - Vietnamese: cắm trại
• Translator English - Tamil: சுற்றுலா
• Translator English - Marathi: पिकनिक
• Translator English - Turkish: piknik
• Translator English - Italian: picnic
• Translator English - Polish: piknik
• Translator English - Ukrainian: пікнік
• Translator English - Romanian: picnic
• Translator English - Greek: πικνίκ
• Translator English - Afrikaans: piekniek
• Translator English - Swedish: picknick
• Translator English - Norwegian: piknik

10 QUOTES WITH «PICNIC»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word picnic.

1

W. H. Auden

Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

2

Tom Barrett

If the rain spoils our picnic, but saves a farmer's crop, who are we to say it shouldn't rain?

3

Lance Bass

He's a couple sandwiches short of a picnic.

4

Cyril Connolly

The artist one day falls through a hole in the brambles, and from that moment he is following the dark rapids of an underground river which may sometimes flow so near to the surface that the laughing picnic parties are heard above.

5

Andrae Crouch

I was at a picnic, and there were a lot of songwriters. I remember praying, 'God I wish you would give me a song.' About five minutes later, my ears popped, and I saw everybody in slow motion. Nobody knew what I was experiencing.

6

Zooey Deschanel

Nothing's better than a picnic.

7

Barry Eichengreen

The 24% unemployment reached at the depths of the Great Depression was no picnic.

8

Will Estes

I'm into all that sappy stuff - a surprise picnic, nice dinner, or traveling. I'm kind of an old romantic.

9

Calista Flockhart

Webster and I are very aloof. The two of us go and sit there by ourselves. I sit by myself in the corner with my book and the newspaper. He kind of runs around a little bit, and then he goes and sits on top of the picnic table. He never plays with other little dogs.

10

Jim Fowler

The other thing is quality of life; if you have a place where you can go and have a picnic with your family, it doesn't matter if it's a recession or not, you can include that in your quality of life.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PICNIC»

Discover the use of picnic in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to picnic and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Teddy Bears' Picnic

A newly-illustrated version of the song about teddy bears picnicking independently of their "owners."

Jimmy Kennedy, 2012

Picnic

This title collects four plays by American playwright William Inge, including Come Back Little Sheba, Picnic, Bus Stop, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.

William Inge, 2013

Pandora's Picnic Basket : The Potential and Hazards of ...

This book sets out to explain, in clear and direct language, the technologies underlying so-called genetically modified food, and compares them with other "natural" methods of plant breeding and production.

Alan McHughen, 2000

Halmoni and the Picnic

A Korean American girl's third grade class helps her newly arrived grandmother feel more comfortable with her new life in the United States.

‎1993

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Further, higher, till at last they disappeared. They never returned. Whether Picnic at Hanging Rock is fact or fiction the reader must decide for themselves.

Joan Lindsay, 1998

Roadside Picnic

Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those strange misfits who are compelled by some unknown force to venture illegally into the Zone and, in spite of the extreme danger, collect the mysterious artefacts that the alien visitors left scattered ...

Boris Strugatsky, 2014

A Picnic in October

A boy finally comes to understand why his grandmother insists that the family come to Ellis Island each year to celebrate Lady Liberty's birthday.

Eve Bunting, 1999

We're Going on a Picnic

It's a perfect day for a picnic so Hen picks some berries, Goose picks some apples and Duck picks some pears.

Pat Hutchins, 2013

Picnic: 125 Recipes with 29 Seasonal Menus

In Picnic, DeeDee Stovel offers 28 picnic event ideas and more than 125 recipes -- packable repasts from an informal Summer Canoe Picnic (featuring iced cucumber soup and red potato salad with fresh peas) to an elegant Champagne Tea Picnic ...

DeeDee Stovel, 2012

Vultures' Picnic: In Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power ...

This is the story of the corporate vultures that feed on the weak and ruin our planet in the process-a story that spans the globe and decades.

Greg Palast, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PICNIC»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term picnic is used in the context of the following news items.

Beer picnic in cycle lane in Chiang Mai

CHIANG MAI - Photos of two pickup trucks parked in cycling lane while their drivers having a picnic on a pavement have sparked viral outrage ... «Bangkok Post, Jul 15»

Gallery: Old Settlers' Picnic 5K

Scenes from the Whatcom Old Settlers' Picnic 5K Run and 2 Mile Walk on Saturday, July 5, in Ferndale, Washington. Gallery; Comments. 1 of 13. Runners take ... «The Bellingham Herald, Jul 15»

Congregation holds goodbye picnic for Rev. Bill Scafidi of St. Mary's …

NEWBURGH – On the final Sunday before the 140-year-old Church of St. Mary was scheduled to close, its congregation turned out for a picnic ... «Times Herald-Record, Jul 15»

Collector of oddities to show off at Thurber House picnic

When he goes to the Thurber House on Wednesday to speak as part of the Summer Literary Picnic series, he plans to show off some of the ... «Columbus Dispatch, Jul 15»

Bicyclists come out to ride, have a picnic

A gourmet picnic awaited riders back at the starting line when they finished. "It really goes with our mission, to interact with youth and to do ... «WeAreGreenBay.com, Jul 15»

ADA celebrates 25 years with annual picnic

The purpose of this annual picnic is recognizing the strides the ADA has made since its inception in 1990. The Outdoor Campus in Rapid City ... «Newscenter1.tv, Jul 15»

Africville reunion, picnic still inspiring fond memories

Almost 19 when she her family were forced to leave Africville, Steed-Ross is one of the driving forces behind a large Africville picnic and ... «TheChronicleHerald.ca, Jul 15»

Free family-friendly picnic at Midway Village

Midway Village Museum is inviting the community to a family-friendly picnic from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, July 26, 2015, on the museum ... «WREX-TV, Jul 15»

Top 5 things to do around Grand Rapids include Picnic Pops …

The final concert in the Grand Rapids Symphony's Picnic Pops series happens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 30-31, at Cannonsburg ... «MLive.com, Jul 15»

Sheriff's Annual Senior Picnic to be held Aug. 15

“As sheriff, hosting the annual Senior Picnic is one of the great ... This year's Senior Picnic will be a wonderful fun-filled day to give back to our ... «Community Advocate, Jul 15»