Word Drift · History of Words
Where does the word "picnic" come from?
"Picnic" is recorded in English in 1748, in Lord Chesterfield's Letters, from French piquenique (1640s). At first it meant a fashionable social meal, not necessarily outdoors, where every guest contributed something to the table. The French word first appears in 1649 as the name of a character in a satirical poem.
Source: “picnic” in the Online Etymology Dictionary (Etymonline), read 2026-10-19.
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Questions
Did a picnic always mean eating outdoors?
No. Originally it meant a fashionable social affair where every guest contributed something to the general table, and it was not necessarily outdoors.
What language does "picnic" come from?
French, from piquenique, recorded in the 1640s. English has it from 1748.
When did "picnic" come to mean something easy?
The figurative sense "something easy" is recorded from 1886.