picaninny

pic·a·nin·ny

P p

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [pik-uh-nin-ee]
- /ˈpɪk əˌnɪn i/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [pik-uh-nin-ee]
- /ˈpɪk əˌnɪn i/

Definitions of picaninny word

abbreviation PICANINNY pickaninny. 1
noun plural picaninny a term used to refer to a black child. 1

See all 2 definitions of picaninny

Information block about the term

Origin of picaninny

First appearance:

before 1645

One of the 44% oldest English words

1645-55; probably ultimately < 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

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Picaninny

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Picaninny

picaninny popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 44% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 50% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

picaninny usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer