Pickaninny

Pickaninny (also picaninny, piccaninny or pickininnie) is a racial slur for black children and a pejorative term for aboriginal children of the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. The origins of the term are disputed. Along with several words for children in pidgin and creole languages, such as piccanin and pikinini, it may derive from the Portuguese pequenino ('boy, child, very small, tiny'). In the United States, the pickaninny is a derogatory caricature of a dark-skinned African-American child, often depicted with unkempt hair, bulging eyes, and large red lips. Such characters were a popular feature of minstrel shows into the twentieth century.