means Sharp enough to penetrate, whether literally (a needle, a thorn) or figuratively (a gaze, a cry, a cold wind) — and also the practice or result of making a hole in the body for an ornament.

from From the verb "pierce," which came into English from Old French "percer," meaning to bore through or transfix. Behind that lies Latin, most likely "pertusiare" or a related form built on "pertundere" — to thrust or beat through (per-, "through," plus tundere, "to strike"). So the word has always carried the sense of something driving all the way through a barrier — which is why it works equally well for a spear, a scream, and a stud through an earlobe.