Definition of "pickaninny" [pick•a•nin•ny]

• Offensive Used as a disparaging term for a young Black child. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Don't forget about Evan Mecham, Arizona's former governor who made the "pickaninny" statement and the cancellation of the state's Martin Luther King, Jr.Day. so what?"
• "In 1932 Langston Hughes criticized Little Black Sambo as a typical "pickaninny" storybook which was hurtful to black children, and gradually the book disappeared from lists of recommended stories for children."
• "In connection with the thread earlier on the new Mexican stamps depicting a "pickaninny" cartoon character, I noticed three related items in Mexconnect today."