Definition of PICKANINNY

pickaninny

Meanings

Plural: pickaninnies

Noun

  • (ethnic slur) offensive term for a Black child
  • A black child.

Adj

  • Little, small.

Origin / 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.

Synonyms

picaninny, piccaninny

Scrabble Score: 21

pickaninny is not valid in Scrabble (US) TWL Dictionary
pickaninny is not valid in Scrabble (MW) Merriam-Webster Dictionary
pickaninny is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 25

pickaninny is a valid Words With Friends word