Etymology: < Middle French, French Picard (adjective) of or relating to Picardy (c1285 in Old French in langage pickart, langage pikart the dialect spoken in Picardy), (noun) an inhabitant of Picardy (beginning of the 14th cent. in Old French), the dialect spoken in Picardy (1648 or earlier) < Picardie, the name of a region and former province centred on Amiens in northern France. Compare post-classical Latin Picardus, adjective (12th cent. in a British source) and noun, denoting an inhabitant of Picardy (frequently from 1254 in British sources).Apparently attested earlier as a surname (e.g. Paganus Picard (1167), Peter le Picard (1238)), although it is more likely that this should be interpreted as reflecting currency of the Old French than the Middle English word. O.E.D. Suppl. (1982) also gives the non-naturalized pronunciation (pikar) /pikar/.

Etymology: Origin unknown; quots. 1338 and 1357 apparently reflect a vernacular word, although it is unclear whether this is Middle English or Anglo-Norman; however, as there is no other evidence for such a word in Anglo-Norman or continental French, it seems more likely that the Middle English word is shown here. In later use perhaps associated with Picard n.¹Compare post-classical Latin picarda , sort of ship (1417 in a British source):1417 in T. D. Hardy Rotuli Normanniae in Turri Londinensi (1835) I. 327 Walterus Burgeis, magister picard vocatae Trinite de Otermouth. The word is unlikely to be derived < Dutch regional (chiefly Friesland) pikker or West Frisian pikker , both in sense ‘small jib sail’ (apparently < pikken (see pick v.¹) + -er -er suffix¹, perhaps after its pointed shape), as jibs and other forestay-sails only developed after the English word is first attested. An etymology has also been suggested < Spanish picar to prick, pierce, also to harpoon (see pick v.¹), on the grounds that the picard may originally have been a Biscayan whale-boat. However, there is no evidence to support this. Perhaps compare Middle French (chiefly Hainault, Flanders) pikar (adjective) sharp, pointed (1344; also as picart, pickar), piccar (noun) a kind of nail (also as pikar, picart, piccart, pickart, pikart; early 13th cent. in Old French as pichart; French regional (Flanders) †picard), but the semantic connection would remain uncertain.

Etymology: Probably < post-classical Latin picardus, pickardus, pikardus (early 15th cent. in this sense; a1272 in sense ‘beghard’), variant of beghardus Beghard n. with alteration after picardus Picard n.¹; compare post-classical Latin bycharus beghard (early 14th cent.) and pyghardus (1519 in this sense).In forms Pickhart, Pikart, Pikhart probably after German or Czech; compare early modern German pickard, pickart (both 1525 or earlier in this sense), pickhard (1564 or earlier in this sense), Czech †Pikhart, noun (1582 or earlier in this sense; now pikart), †Pikhartstwij, adjective (1533 or earlier). The hypothesis that the sect's name derives from a Frenchman named Picard is now generally rejected.