Pickaninny

"Picaninny" redirects here. Not to be confused with Picatinny. For other uses, see Pickaninny (disambiguation).

Postcard depicting a group of African-American children of varying ages, standing barefoot in front of a low wall with foliage visible behind it, all looking away from the camera to the left; the oldest child holds an infant on her hip
Postcard titled "Six Little Pickaninnies" (Detroit Publishing, 1902)

Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickininnie) is a pidgin word for a small child, possibly derived from the Portuguese pequenino ('boy, child, very small, tiny').[1] It has been used as a racial slur for African American children and a pejorative term for Aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It can also refer to a derogatory caricature of a dark-skinned child of African descent.[2]

  1. ^ "pickaninny". Oxford English Dictionary online (draft revision ed.). March 2010. Probably < a form in an [sic] Portuguese-based pidgin < Portuguese pequenino boy, child, use as noun of pequenino very small, tiny (14th cent.; earlier as pequeninno (13th cent.))...
  2. ^ Room, Adrian (1986). A Dictionary of True Etymologies. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Inc. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-415-03060-1.