Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pickaninny
Pick′a-ninˊny
(pĭk′ȧ-nĭnˊny̆)
, Noun.
pl.
Pickaninnies
(pĭk′ȧ-nĭnˊnĭz)
. [Cf. Sp.
pequeño
little, young.] A small child; especially, a negro or mulatto infant. Now (2001) used primarily in the latter sense, and in that sense often considered derogatory.
[U.S. & West Indies]
Definition 2024
pickaninny
pickaninny
English
Alternative forms
Adjective
pickaninny (not comparable)
- (Southern US, Australia) Little, small.
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:pickaninny.
Noun
pickaninny (plural pickaninnies)
- (obsolete, derogatory) A black child.
Translations
black child
Derived terms
Descendants
- Bislama: pikinini
- Kriol: biginini
- Pijin: pikinini
- Torres Strait Creole: biginini
- Tok Pisin: pikinini
References
- ↑ “pickaninny” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary (2001).
- ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911.
- Ernest Giles, Australia Twice Traversed (1889) (confirms that the adjective meaning "little" is used in Australia)