"pickaninny" meaning in English

See pickaninny in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈpɪkənɪni/ [UK]
Etymology: Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien. Etymology templates: {{der|en|pt|pequenino||boy, child}} Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), {{m|pt|pequenino||tiny}} pequenino (“tiny”), {{m|pt|pequeno||small}} pequeno (“small”), {{der|en|af|pikenien}} Afrikaans pikenien Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} pickaninny (not comparable)
  1. (now rare) Little, small. Tags: archaic, not-comparable
    Sense id: en-pickaninny-en-adj-EfXyvyGo
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: piccaninny, picaninny, picinniny, pikinini, pickaninnie, pickininnie, pickininny, piccanin [Australia, South-Africa], pickny [Caribbean]

Noun

IPA: /ˈpɪkənɪni/ [UK] Forms: pickaninnies [plural]
Etymology: Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien. Etymology templates: {{der|en|pt|pequenino||boy, child}} Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), {{m|pt|pequenino||tiny}} pequenino (“tiny”), {{m|pt|pequeno||small}} pequeno (“small”), {{der|en|af|pikenien}} Afrikaans pikenien Head templates: {{en-noun}} pickaninny (plural pickaninnies)
  1. (colloquial, now offensive, ethnic slur) A black child. Tags: colloquial, ethnic, offensive, slur Categories (topical): Children Derived forms: pickney Translations: αραπάκι (arapáki) [neuter] (Greek)
    Sense id: en-pickaninny-en-noun-r3ZVpJLI Disambiguation of Children: 15 85 Categories (other): English ethnic slurs, English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 86
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: piccaninny, picaninny, picinniny, pikinini, pickaninnie, pickininnie, pickininny, piccanin [Australia, South-Africa], pickny [Caribbean]

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for pickaninny meaning in English (6.3kB)

{
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "bjs",
            "2": "pickney"
          },
          "expansion": "Bajan: pickney",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Bajan: pickney"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "bi",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Bislama: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Bislama: pikinini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "jam",
            "2": "pickney"
          },
          "expansion": "Jamaican Creole: pickney",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Jamaican Creole: pickney"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "rop",
            "2": "biginini"
          },
          "expansion": "Kriol: biginini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Kriol: biginini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pis",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Pijin: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Pijin: pikinini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "tcs",
            "2": "biginini",
            "3": "piknini"
          },
          "expansion": "Torres Strait Creole: biginini, piknini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Torres Strait Creole: biginini, piknini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "tpi",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Tok Pisin: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Tok Pisin: pikinini"
    }
  ],
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        "2": "pt",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "boy, child"
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      "expansion": "Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "pequenino",
        "3": "",
        "4": "tiny"
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      "expansion": "pequenino (“tiny”)",
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      "name": "m"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "af",
        "3": "pikenien"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans pikenien",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pickaninnies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pickaninny (plural pickaninnies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English ethnic slurs",
          "parents": [
            "Ethnic slurs",
            "Offensive terms",
            "Terms by usage"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 85",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Children",
          "orig": "en:Children",
          "parents": [
            "Youth",
            "Age",
            "People",
            "Human",
            "Time",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "pickney"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 134",
          "text": "A small white donkey glimmered into sight, and behind it a milk cart, rattling its cans, and behind that ran a small and ragged piccaninny, a child of perhaps seven years, whose teeth were rattling so loudly they sounded like falling pebbles even across the width of the garden.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 January 10, Boris Johnson, “If Blair's so good at running the Congo, let him stay there”, in The Daily Telegraph",
          "text": "What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England. It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, Robin Bernstein, Racial Innocence, NYU Press, page 34",
          "text": "The pickaninny was an imagined, subhuman black juvenile who was typically depicted outdoors, merrily accepting (or even inviting) violence. The word (alternatively spelled “picaninny” or “piccaninny”) dates to the seventeenth century, […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A black child."
      ],
      "id": "en-pickaninny-en-noun-r3ZVpJLI",
      "links": [
        [
          "ethnic",
          "ethnic"
        ],
        [
          "slur",
          "slur"
        ],
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ],
        [
          "child",
          "child"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial, now offensive, ethnic slur) A black child."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "ethnic",
        "offensive",
        "slur"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "arapáki",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "αραπάκι"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈpɪkənɪni/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "piccaninny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "picaninny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "picinniny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pikinini"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickaninnie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickininnie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickininny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "word": "piccanin"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Caribbean"
      ],
      "word": "pickny"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pickaninny"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "pt",
        "3": "pequenino",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boy, child"
      },
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      "name": "der"
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      "args": {
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      "expansion": "pequenino (“tiny”)",
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    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
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    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "af",
        "3": "pikenien"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans pikenien",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "pickaninny (not comparable)",
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    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "For quotations using this term, see Citations:pickaninny."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Little, small."
      ],
      "id": "en-pickaninny-en-adj-EfXyvyGo",
      "links": [
        [
          "Little",
          "little"
        ],
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(now rare) Little, small."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
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    {
      "ipa": "/ˈpɪkənɪni/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "piccaninny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "picaninny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "picinniny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pikinini"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickaninnie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickininnie"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "pickininny"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "word": "piccanin"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "tags": [
        "Caribbean"
      ],
      "word": "pickny"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pickaninny"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English 4-syllable words",
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Afrikaans",
    "English terms derived from Portuguese",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "en:Children"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "pickney"
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  ],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "bjs",
            "2": "pickney"
          },
          "expansion": "Bajan: pickney",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Bajan: pickney"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "bi",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Bislama: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Bislama: pikinini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "jam",
            "2": "pickney"
          },
          "expansion": "Jamaican Creole: pickney",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Jamaican Creole: pickney"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "rop",
            "2": "biginini"
          },
          "expansion": "Kriol: biginini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Kriol: biginini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "pis",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Pijin: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Pijin: pikinini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "tcs",
            "2": "biginini",
            "3": "piknini"
          },
          "expansion": "Torres Strait Creole: biginini, piknini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Torres Strait Creole: biginini, piknini"
    },
    {
      "depth": 1,
      "templates": [
        {
          "args": {
            "1": "tpi",
            "2": "pikinini"
          },
          "expansion": "Tok Pisin: pikinini",
          "name": "desc"
        }
      ],
      "text": "Tok Pisin: pikinini"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "pt",
        "3": "pequenino",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boy, child"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pt",
        "2": "pequenino",
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        "4": "tiny"
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      "name": "m"
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        "2": "af",
        "3": "pikenien"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans pikenien",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pickaninnies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "pickaninny (plural pickaninnies)",
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English ethnic slurs",
        "English offensive terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther, published 1974, page 134",
          "text": "A small white donkey glimmered into sight, and behind it a milk cart, rattling its cans, and behind that ran a small and ragged piccaninny, a child of perhaps seven years, whose teeth were rattling so loudly they sounded like falling pebbles even across the width of the garden.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002 January 10, Boris Johnson, “If Blair's so good at running the Congo, let him stay there”, in The Daily Telegraph",
          "text": "What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England. It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2011, Robin Bernstein, Racial Innocence, NYU Press, page 34",
          "text": "The pickaninny was an imagined, subhuman black juvenile who was typically depicted outdoors, merrily accepting (or even inviting) violence. The word (alternatively spelled “picaninny” or “piccaninny”) dates to the seventeenth century, […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A black child."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "ethnic",
          "ethnic"
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        ],
        [
          "black",
          "black"
        ],
        [
          "child",
          "child"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial, now offensive, ethnic slur) A black child."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "ethnic",
        "offensive",
        "slur"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈpɪkənɪni/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "piccaninny"
    },
    {
      "word": "picaninny"
    },
    {
      "word": "picinniny"
    },
    {
      "word": "pikinini"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickaninnie"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickininnie"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickininny"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "word": "piccanin"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Caribbean"
      ],
      "word": "pickny"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "arapáki",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "αραπάκι"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pickaninny"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English 4-syllable words",
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms derived from Afrikaans",
    "English terms derived from Portuguese",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "en:Children"
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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pt",
        "3": "pequenino",
        "4": "",
        "5": "boy, child"
      },
      "expansion": "Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "pequenino",
        "3": "",
        "4": "tiny"
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      "expansion": "pequenino (“tiny”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
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        "4": "small"
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      "expansion": "pequeno (“small”)",
      "name": "m"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "af",
        "3": "pikenien"
      },
      "expansion": "Afrikaans pikenien",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from a Portuguese pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino (“boy, child”), noun use of pequenino (“tiny”), from pequeno (“small”). In South African uses probably partly after Afrikaans pikenien.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
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      "expansion": "pickaninny (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with rare senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "For quotations using this term, see Citations:pickaninny."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Little, small."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Little",
          "little"
        ],
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(now rare) Little, small."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈpɪkənɪni/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "piccaninny"
    },
    {
      "word": "picaninny"
    },
    {
      "word": "picinniny"
    },
    {
      "word": "pikinini"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickaninnie"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickininnie"
    },
    {
      "word": "pickininny"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "South-Africa"
      ],
      "word": "piccanin"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "Caribbean"
      ],
      "word": "pickny"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pickaninny"
}
{
  "called_from": "page/2517",
  "msg": "UNIMPLEMENTED parse_translation_template: trans-top-see {1: 'black child', 2: 'black child'}",
  "path": [
    "pickaninny",
    "trans-top-see"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "pickaninny",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-24 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (82c8ff9 and f4967a5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.