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pick·a·nin·ny

(pĭkə-nĭn′ē)

n. pl. pick·a·nin·nies
Offensive

Used as a disparaging term for a young black child.

[Of West Indian creole and African creole origin; akin to Jamaican Patwa picknie, Krio (English-based creole of Sierra Leone) pikin, and Tok Pisin pikinini, child, all from a Portuguese-based pidgin, from Portuguese pequenino, diminutive of pequeno, small, Spanish pequeñ:o and Italian piccino, small.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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