picayune

picayune
I. noun Etymology: Occitan picaioun, a small coin, from picaio money, from pica to jingle, of imitative origin Date: 1804 1. a. a Spanish half real piece formerly current in the South b. half dime 2. something trivial II. adjective Date: 1836 of little value ; paltry; also petty, small-mindedpicayunish adjective

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Picayune — ist der Name einer spanischen Münze, siehe Picayune (Münze) einer Stadt in den USA, siehe Picayune (Mississippi) Diese Seite ist eine Begriffsklärung zur Unterscheidung mehrerer mit demselben Wort bezeichneter Begriffe …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Picayune — Picayune, MS U.S. city in Mississippi Population (2000): 10535 Housing Units (2000): 4568 Land area (2000): 11.763019 sq. miles (30.466079 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.040986 sq. miles (0.106154 sq. km) Total area (2000): 11.804005 sq. miles… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Picayune, MS — U.S. city in Mississippi Population (2000): 10535 Housing Units (2000): 4568 Land area (2000): 11.763019 sq. miles (30.466079 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.040986 sq. miles (0.106154 sq. km) Total area (2000): 11.804005 sq. miles (30.572233 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Picayune — Pic a*yune , n. [From the language of the Caribs.] A small coin of the value of six and a quarter cents. See {Fippenny bit}. [Local, U.S.] [1913 Webster] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • picayune — index inconsequential, insubstantial, minor, negligible, petty, trivial Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • picayune — (n.) 1804, coin of small value, probably from Louisiana Fr. picaillon coin worth 5 cents, earlier the French name of an old copper coin of Savoy (1750), from Prov. picaioun small copper coin, from picaio money, of uncertain origin …   Etymology dictionary

  • picayune — [adj] trivial diminutive, everyday, frivolous, immaterial, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, irrelevant, little, meager, mean, meaningless, minor, minute, negligible, nonessential, of no account*, paltry, petty,… …   New thesaurus

  • picayune — ☆ picayune [pik′ə yo͞on΄, pik΄ə yo͞on′ ] n. [Fr picaillon, small coin, halfpenny < Prov picaioun < picaio, money, prob. < pica, to ring, jingle, strike < VL * piccare: see PICADOR] 1. a coin of small value, as a former Spanish half… …   English World dictionary

  • Picayune — A picayune was a Spanish coin, worth half a real. Its name derives from the French picaillon , which is itself from the Provençal picaioun , meaning small coin. By extension, can mean trivial or of little value. Aside from being used in Spanish… …   Wikipedia

  • picayune — picayunishly, adv. picayunishness, n. /pik ee yoohn , pik euh /, adj. Also, picayunish. Informal. 1. of little value or account; small; trifling: a picayune amount. 2. petty, carping, or prejudiced: I didn t want to seem picayune by criticizing.… …   Universalium

  • picayune — 1. adjective /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/lang=en a) Petty, trivial; of little consequence; small and of little importance; picayunish; It might seem like a picayune matter, akin to the rivalry in the film Monty Pythons Life of Brian between the Judean Peoples… …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”