Dictionary.com

pickaninny

or pic·a·nin·ny, pic·ca·nin·ny

[ pik-uh-nin-ee ]
/ ˈpɪk əˌnɪn i /

noun, plural pick·a·nin·nies.Older Use: Now Offensive.

a term used to refer to a Black child.

QUIZZES

CAN YOU GUESS THESE WORDS FROM AROUND THE US?

American English is not always as it appears to be ... get to know regional words in this quiz!
Question 1 of 10
A bet is synonymous with a wager, but what does it mean in New York?
Often it means something is impossible.
It’s another way to agree with someone.
It serves as an apology.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pickaninny

First recorded in 1645–55; probably ultimately from Portuguese pequenino, diminutive of pequeno “small”; as a word for “small child,” pickaninny and its variants are widespread in English-based creoles of the New World and West Africa; compare Jamaican English pickney, West African English pickin “small child”

usage note for pickaninny

Pickaninny is a dated term, originally used in a neutral or even affectionate way in the West Indies, but now perceived as insulting.

Words nearby pickaninny

pick a bone with, pick and choose, pick and mix, pick-and-roll, pick-and-shovel, pickaninny, pick apart, pick a quarrel, pickaroon, pick at, pickax
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for pickaninny

pickaninny
/ (ˌpɪkəˈnɪnɪ) /

noun plural -nies

a variant spelling (esp US) of 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