What does 'pied' mean in the Pied Piper?

mibmob

Pied refers to the fact that he had clothes that were symmetrically of two different colours on each side. May 17 02, 11:56 AM

eliasen

Symmetry isn't necessarily implied by the word "pied." It usually just means "spotted" or "multicolored." I remember a friend of mine asking this question in High School. He went around for a couple of days talking about the "Pied Janitor" or the "Pied Lawyer," and it never got annoying. May 17 02, 5:17 PM

Fosse4

Pied means black and white coloured, not a pattern of any kind. If it is any other colours involved with white, then the word is "skewbald." May 20 02, 6:09 PM

eliasen

Fosse4, I have to dispute your claim that it means black and white. I've looked in four dictionaries now and all of them indicated multicolored: "having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly" - WordNet "of two or more colors in blotches; also : wearing or having a parti-colored coat" - Merriam-Webster The others don't mention black and white either. May 20 02, 9:34 PM

Son of The Household Cavalry

"Splotched" according to the Reader's Digest Universal Dictionary. Pied (adjective) meaning patchy in colour; splotched; piebald (Middle English, from pie, magpie) from its piebald colouring. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pied [Added reference link - McG] May 21 02, 6:07 AM

sqem

The origin of the word lends to it meaning black and white. It comes from Middle English, "pie" being used for "magpie", which has black and white colouring. "Pied" wouldn't inherently be symmetrical, but since the word is describing the clothing of the Piper, it's not all that far-fetched that his clothes would be. I mean, what's more likely for the tale: black and white cloth being sewn into clothing in a symmetrical, eye-pleasing manner, or random bits of coloured cloth being cobbled together? The townfolk probably wouldn't have hired him if he'd come into town looking like a crazy patchworked beggar. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pied Adj. 1. pied - having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly; "a jester dressed in motley"; "the painted desert"; "a particolored dress"; "a piebald horse"; "pied daisies" [Added reference - McG] Apr 24 08, 7:26 AM