picayune

¹

[ pik-ee-yoon, pik-uh- ]

adjective

, Informal.

1. of little value or account; small; trifling:

   a picayune amount.

   Synonyms: trivial, paltry, nugatory, insignificant, inconsequential, measly

2. petty, carping, or prejudiced:

   I didn't want to seem picayune by criticizing.

   Synonyms: illiberal, small-minded, petty, narrow-minded, narrow

noun

1. (formerly, in Louisiana, Florida, etc.) a coin equal to half a Spanish real.
2. any small coin, as a five-cent piece.
3. Informal. an insignificant person or thing.

Picayune

²

[ pik-uh-yoon, pik-ee- ]

noun

1. a town in SE Mississippi.

picayune

/ ˌpɪkəˈjuːn /

adjective

1. of small value or importance
2. mean; petty

noun

1. the half real, an old Spanish-American coin
2. any coin of little value, esp a five-cent piece

Derived Forms

• ˌpicaˈyunishness, noun
• ˌpicaˈyunishly, adverb

Other Words From

• pica·yunish·ly adverb
• pica·yunish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of picayune¹

First recorded in 1780–90; from Provençal picaioun “small copper coin” (compare French picaillons ), derivative of an unattested onomatopoetic base pikk- “beat,” here referring to the coining of coppers

Word History and Origins

Origin of picayune¹

C19: from French picaillon coin from Piedmont, from Provençal picaioun, of unknown origin

Example Sentences

The next-largest categories, and we think the most concerning, encompass election administration and absentee voting – often challenging mechanical, even picayune matters.

From Salon

When Jacobs tells a Kryptos message board he’s visiting the sculpture, the solvers have absurdly picayune requests.

From Washington Post

Marshall's confirmation was a giant step forward in Supreme Court and U.S. history, but along the way he faced Senate Judiciary Committee questions that were race-baiting, arrogant, irrelevant and picayune.

From Salon

The NFL’s picayune rule book is difficult enough to enforce without an inherently arbitrary judgment on what happens after a play.

From Washington Post

But, however overwrought Anna’s sensibility sometimes is, Mrs. Lessing points such powerful significances therefrom that, in comparison, many other highly touted novels dealing with man’s acceptance — or defiance — of his fate seem picayune indeed.

From New York Times