piquant adj
1. having an agreeably pungent taste [syn: savory, savoury, spicy, zesty]
2. engagingly stimulating or provocative; "a piquant wit"; "salty language" [syn: salty]
3. attracting or delighting; "an engaging frankness"; "a piquant face with large appealing eyes" [syn: engaging]

Piquant \Pi"quant\, a. [F., p. pr. of piquer to prick or sting. See Pike.] Stimulating to the taste; giving zest; tart; sharp; pungent; as, a piquant anecdote. ``As piquant to the tongue as salt.'' --Addison. ``Piquant railleries.'' --Gov. of Tongue.

See more meaning on Piquant...

Piquance or piquancy (also referred to as hotness, pungence, raciness, spiciness, or the condition of something being spicy hot) is a type of pungence specific to the sense of taste. The (originally French) word piquant is cognate with the Spanish and Portuguese word picante, which carries the same meaning. In Asian countries within the sphere of mainly Chinese, Indian and Japanese cultural influence, it has traditionally been considered a sixth basic taste.

Use of the word "piquance" eliminates potential lingual ambiguity arising from overlap in meaning with the words "hot" and "spicy" which usually requires a determination or assumption of meaning based on context.

Instead of "hot" simply referring to temperature, and "spicy" being used to refer to the presence of spices (many of which are not actually piquant), the former two words are often used as synonyms for the latter, a word less commonly employed in reference to the characteristic which in regards to taste it solely defines.

• TNCA in legal tangle over three stands in Chepauk stadium
  Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is in a piquant situation after having sold tickets for three of Read more on this news related to 'Piquant'
• EC orders probe into BJP office on temple premises
  Punjab BJP may face a piquant situation in Jalandhar with the state election commission asking district electoral officer-cum-deputy commissioner to probe into the allegation that the party's city unit is functioning from a temple here.         Read more on this news related to 'Piquant'
• ‘Mud’ slings a triumph
  Matthew McConaughey continues one of Hollywood’s most unlikely comebacks with another triumph as a feral fugitive in “Mud,’’ a wonderful, piquant modern-day variation on “Huckleberry Finn.’’ The Huck in Jeff Nichols’ film is 14-year-old Ellis (Tye Sheridan), whose life in a ramshackle houseboat on the Mississippi River in Arkansas... Read more on this news related to 'Piquant'