Piccaninny (Noun)
Meaning
(ethnic slur) offensive term for a Black child.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Usages
Examples
- Historians have long denounced the racist portrayal of a young Black boy as a piccaninny in Mark Twain's classic work.
- The term piccaninny has its roots in a Portuguese phrase for 'young child,' but was perverted into an aggressive ethnic slur.
- Abolitionists and many writers wrote extensively on the extreme harm caused by using the word piccaninny in their publications.
- References to the hurtful term piccaninny have appeared throughout American literature in various contexts.
- In Mark Twain's lesser-known works, the derogatory use of the term piccaninny is evident in describing young Black characters.