Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having a short stocky physique.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun anthropology A short, thickset person characterised by thick neck, large abdomen and relatively short limbs; a
mesomorph .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective having a squat and fleshy build
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From Greek puknos, compact.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Ancient Greek πυκνός (puknos, "thick").
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Examples
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Allin informed Carl with his pyknic leer, "as well as working as his servant for one tenth of a cycle.
In Other Worlds Attanasio, A. A. 1984
jmjarmstrong commented on the word pyknic
JM reckons too many picnics make too many pyknics!
April 2, 2010