pickney
noun/ˈpɪknɪ/
English Definition
A child.
Patois Definition
Di pickney dem a play football inna di yard.
Etymology
- (Derived from English pickaninny. Compare Bajan pickney, Bislama pikinini, Pijin pikinini, and Tok Pisin pikinini.)
Cultural Context
From Portuguese 'pequeno' via colonial language layers. Used affectionately across all Jamaican dialects.
Examples
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"Di pickney dem a play football inna di yard."
A: How many children do you have? B: I have a son and two daughters.
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"A: O much pickney yuh gat? B: Mi av a yute an two daughter."
He had a hole for his bones. When he ate his meat, he threw the bone into the hole. Anansi gathered his wife, and their three children and he told them that the five of them were going to enter the house to eat from that pot of meat […]
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"“An' he have a bone-hole; when he ate de meat, t'row it into de hole. An' Anansi tak him wife an' t'ree pickney an' he say de five gwine to de house an' get into de pot eat de meat. […]”"