piccaninny

esp US pickaninny

/ (ˌpɪkəˈnɪnɪ) /


nounplural -nies
  1. offensive a small Black or Aboriginal child

  2. (modifier) tiny: a piccaninny fire won't last long

Origin of piccaninny

1
C17: perhaps from Portuguese pequenino tiny one, from pequeno small

Words Nearby piccaninny

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

How to use piccaninny in a sentence

  • piccaninny, Pickaninny, pik′a-nin-i, n. a little child: an African or negro child.

  • piccaninny's black shanks and pink heels flew up and out, and he was away like a flash.

    Prisoners of Hope | Mary Johnston
  • It was then the piccaninny woke up because the bough had ceased to sway gently up and down.

    Piccaninnies | Isabel Maud Peacocke
  • And I've been asleep with my head upon my dear, naughty old Bear, with all my animals and the piccaninny round me.

    Baby Jane's Mission | Reginald Parnell
  • However, the piccaninny and the Rabbit soon began a firm friendship by playfully jogging one another over.

    Baby Jane's Mission | Reginald Parnell