Pickaninny</hw>, <i>n</i>. a
little child. The word is certainly not Australian. It comes
from the West Indies (Cuban <i>piquinini</i>, little, which is
from the Spanish <i>pequeno</i>, small, and <i>nino</i>,
child). The English who came to Australia, having heard the
word applied to negro children elsewhere, applied it to the
children of the aborigines. After a while English people
thought the word was aboriginal Australian, while the
aborigines thought it was correct English. It is
pigeon-English.

1696. D'Urfey's `Don Quixote,' pt. iii. c. v. p. 41
(Stanford):

"Dear pinkaninny [sic],
If half a guiny
To Love wilt win ye."

1830. R. Dawson, `Present State of Australia,' p. 12:

"`I tumble down pickaninny here,' he said, meaning that he was
born there."

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 103:

"Two women, one with a piccaninny at her back."

1847. L. Leichhardt, `Overland Expedition,' p. 520:

"Bilge introduced several old warriors . . . adding always the
number of piccaninies that each of them had."

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals,' p. 305:

"We can even trace words which the Europeans have imported from
the natives of other countries--for example <i>picaninny</i>,
a child. This word is said to have come originally from the
negroes of Africa, through white immigrants. In America the
children of negroes are called picaninny. When the white men
came to Australia, they applied this name to the children of
the natives of this continent."

<hw>Piccaninny</hw>, used as <i>adj</i>. and figuratively,
to mean little.

1848. W. Westgarth, `Australia Felix,' p. 104:

"The hut would be attacked before `piccaninny sun.'"

[Footnote]: "About daylight in the morning."

1884. J. W. Bull, `Early Life in South Australia,' p. 69:

[An Englishman, speaking to blacks] "would produce from his
pocket one of his pistols, and say, `Picaninny gun, plenty
more.'"

<hw>Pick-it-up</hw>, <i>n</i>. a boys' name for the <i>Diamond
bird</i> (q.v.).

1896. G. A. Keartland, `Horne Expedition in Central
Australia,' part ii. Zoology, Aves, p. 69:

"<i>Pardalotus ornatus</i> and <i>Pardalotus affinis</i> give
forth a treble note which has secured for them the name of
`Pick-it-up' from our country boys."

<hw>Picnic</hw>, <i>n</i>. Besides the ordinary meaning of
this word, there is a slang Australian use denoting an awkward
adventure, an unpleasant experience, a troublesome job. In
America the slan