pickney - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (2024)

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Pickney - Wiktionary, the free dictionary? ›

Noun. pickney (plural pickneys) (Caribbean, Jamaica, Belize, MLE, MTE, informal) A child.

In Jamaican Patois, the word has been shortened to the form pickney, which is used to describe a child regardless of racial origin.

I think it's from Jamaican patois, related to the term “piccaninny" but with a different meaning. “Pickney" means a pre-teen child. It can be considered offensive. “Piccaninny” is usually used as a racist term for African-Caribbean (originally) children.

Definition of 'pickney'

1. a. a boy or girl between birth and puberty. b. (as modifier)

Pikni or pikinini is Pidgin English for a child, derived from the Spanish pequeño meaning small.

In an Afro-Caribbean religious sect, found mostly in Brazil and the Congo, the word "Yaya" refers to a woman who has gone through a religious initiation.granny or grandmother.

A Rude Boy (“bwoy” in Jamaican Patois) is a fifty-year-old cultural figure who challenged stereotypes through dapper fashion.

A “maaga pickney” in Creole language would mean “a very thin, skinny child”, as maaga comes from “meager” which, in English, can mean, sparse, lean or scanty. Pickney could be used to mean singular or plural. It is believed that pickney's origin is “PICCANINNY” and is African.

an immoral girl or woman. 4. a short thickset girl. 5. derogatory, offensive.

pickney (plural pickneys) (Caribbean, Jamaica, Belize, MLE, MTE, informal) A child.

What is a synonym for Pickney? ›

Pinckney Surname Meaning

English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Picquigny in Somme named with an ancient Germanic personal name Pincino (of obscure derivation) + the Latin locative suffix -acum.

muma: (translation : mother) Slang expression used to.

Definition of 'pickney'

a. a boy or girl between birth and puberty.

ˌpi-kə-ˈni- variants or less commonly picaninny. plural pickaninnies or picaninnies. dated, offensive. used as a term for a Black child.

Meaning/Description: child, children. Jamaica.

Jamaican Patois has its own rich variety of swearwords. One of the strongest is bloodclaat (along with related forms raasclaat, bomboclaat, puss*claat and others—compare with bloody in Australian English and British English, which is also considered a profanity).

The word gyal is used in a variety of ways in Jamaican culture. It can be used as an expression of endearment, as in the phrase baby gyal. It can also be used to refer to a woman in a sexual way, or simply to mean girl.

Noun. pum-pum (plural pum-pums) (slang, Caribbean, Jamaica, anatomy) The vulva.

There are various ways to say hello in Jamaican patois, the most common is “Wah gwaan?” Weh yuh seh?