picaninny

(ˈpɪkəˌnɪnɪ)

n, pl -nies

(Anthropology & Ethnology) offensive a variant spelling of piccaninny

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

picaninny - (ethnic slur) offensive term for a Black child

piccaninny, pickaninny

depreciation - a communication that belittles somebody or something

ethnic slur - a slur on someone's race or language

Black person, Black - a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa)

child, kid, minor, nipper, tiddler, youngster, tike, shaver, small fry, nestling, fry, tyke - a young person of either sex; "she writes books for children"; "they're just kids"; "`tiddler' is a British term for youngster"

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References in periodicals archive

For example, in the Felix the Cat cartoon, Uncle Tom's Crabbin' (1927), Felix is shown walking to "Dixie" where he meets a Black or blackface banjo player who the audience would undoubtedly recognize as "Uncle Tom," who is playing in front of a cabin to a young Black dancer with unkempt hair who the audience would recognize as a "picaninny." Felix dances with her until a mean white overseer is aroused from his bed.

African American Roots and Branches of the 5-String Banjo: A Selective Videography

Examining an array of performers, from the children's touring Picaninny Choruses and Creole Shows of the 1890s to chorus lines and finally to international song-and-dance sensations such as Florence Mills, Valaida Snow, and Josephine Baker, Brown relates a story of black women in motion on stage and off.

Cake walk, shimmy, and Charleston

There was a time when you could've typed in the letters "n-i-g-g-e-r" on eBay's search engine and pulled up "Tragic Mulatto" books, "Coon" ashtrays, "Sambo" or "Jigger" masks, "Picaninny" toys, "Uncle Tom" matchbooks, and tons of other so-called black memorabilia items.

Highly offensive: Karen Juanita Carrillo examines the ongoing currency of racist curios. (Culture)

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