Definition of "picayune" [pic•a•yune]

• Of little value or importance; paltry. See Synonyms at trivial. (adjective)
• Petty; mean. (adjective)
• A Spanish-American half-real piece formerly used in parts of the southern United States. (noun)
• A five-cent piece. (noun)
• Something of very little value; a trifle: not worth a picayune. (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.

• "A picayune was the smallest coin the richly appareled madame or the poor market negro could put in the collection box as she paused on her way at the"
• "A picayune was the price of a small sheet in my time."
• "Yet in a move that can only be described as picayune and small-minded, a program designed to make the House cafeteria greener has been eliminated."