picayune

[pik-ee-yoon, pik-uh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR picayune ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also pic·a·yun·ish. Informal.

of little value or account; small; trifling: a picayune amount.

petty, carping, or prejudiced: I didn't want to seem picayune by criticizing.

noun

(formerly, in Louisiana, Florida, etc.) a coin equal to half a Spanish real.

any small coin, as a five-cent piece.

Informal. an insignificant person or thing.

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Nearby words

Origin of picayune

1780–90; < Provençal picaioun small copper coin (compare French picaillons), derivative of an onomatopoetic base *pikk- beat, here referring to the coining of coppers

SYNONYMS FOR picayune

1. trivial, insignificant. 2. narrow-minded.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR picayune ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspic·a·yun·ish·ly, adverbpic·a·yun·ish·ness, noun

Picayune

[pik-uh-yoon, pik-ee-]

noun

a town in SE Mississippi.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for picayune

The administration enthusiastically traded winning the future for a picayune present gain.
Will Jack Lew Win the Future?|Megan McArdle|January 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To see just how picayune the debate got, take a look at the opinions.
Don’t Believe the Hype: Supreme Court Decision on Juvenile Life Without Parole Is Weak|David R. Dow|June 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
But his evaluation admitted that portions at the restaurant were “picayune, and desserts are something of a question mark.”
Four Stars!|Isabel Wilkinson|August 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"Picayune Butler's coming, coming" has upset my nervous system.
A Confederate Girl's Diary|Sarah Margan Dawson

A week afterward Richling saw him at the Picayune Tier, superintending the unloading of a small schooner-load of bananas.
Dr. Sevier|George W. Cable
They wudn't let me leave ther boat, ner pay me a picayune, so I just skipped out.
The Devil's Own|Randall Parrish
Now the Des Moines is a picayune stream, unduly dignified by the appellation of "river."
The Road|Jack London
She wrote much for the Picayune and wrote herself into love as well as fame.
History of Woman Suffrage, Volume III (of III)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for picayune

picayune

adjective Also: picayunish US and Canadian informal

of small value or importance

mean; petty

noun

the half real, an old Spanish-American coin

US any coin of little value, esp a five-cent piece

Derived Formspicayunishly, adverbpicayunishness, noun

Word Origin for picayune

C19: from French picaillon coin from Piedmont, from Provençal picaioun, of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for picayune

picayune

1804, "coin of small value," probably from Louisiana French picaillon "coin worth 5 cents," earlier the French name of an old copper coin of Savoy (1750), from Provençal picaioun "small copper coin," from picaio "money," of uncertain origin. Adjectival figurative sense of "paltry, mean" recorded from 1813.