A Picket Was a Pointed Stake Before It Was a Protester
A picket is a pointed stake, a small guard post and a striking worker. All three come from the stake.
A picket is a pointed stake driven into the ground. Two other senses grew from it: a military *picket* was a small detachment posted forward, originally tethered to picket stakes, and industrial picketing takes the name from that guarding role. A picket fence is the literal original, made of pointed pales.
- A pointed stake. *A picket fence.*
- Striking workers outside a workplace. *On the picket line.*
- A small guard detachment. *A forward picket.*
- To protest outside. *Picket the factory.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | picket | A wooden picket. |
| Plural | pickets | Two pickets. |
| Verb | picket | Picket the entrance. |
| Compound | picket line | Cross the picket line. |
| Related | pike | A medieval pike. |
How it is used in a sentence
- They stood on the picket line.Industrial action.
- A picket fence has pointed tops.The original sense.
- A flying picket travels to other sites.British industrial term.
Picketing terms
- Picket line — the line of protesting workers
- Flying picket — pickets travelling to other workplaces
- Secondary picketing — at a workplace not directly in dispute
- Crossing the line — working despite the picket
- Regulated — UK law limits numbers and location
From French *piquet*, a pointed stake, a diminutive of *pic*, a pike or point.
Why is a protest called a picket?
From military use: a picket was a small guard detachment posted forward, and striking workers took the name for their watch outside a workplace.
What is a flying picket?
Pickets who travel from their own workplace to support disputes elsewhere. UK law has restricted the practice since the 1980s.