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Definition of Picayune
1. Adjective. (informal) small and of little importance. "Giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
Language type: Colloquialism
Similar to: Unimportant
Derivative terms: Littleness, Pettiness, Trivia, Triviality, Trivialize
Definition of Picayune
1. n. A small coin of the value of six and a quarter cents. See Fippenny bit.
Definition of Picayune
1. Adjective. Petty, trivial; of little consequence; small and of little importance; picayunish; ¹
2. Adjective. something not worth arguing about. ¹
3. Adjective. an argument, fact, corner case, or other issue raised (often intentionally) that distracts from a larger issue at hand or does not change a primary supposition, outcome, postulate, premise, conclusion, hypothesis, judgment or recommendation; ¹
4. Adjective. small-minded: being childishly spiteful, tending to go on about unimportant things. ¹
5. Noun. (US archaic) A small coin of the value of six and a quarter cents; a fippenny bit. ¹
6. Noun. A five-cent piece. ¹
7. Noun. Something of very little value; a trifle: not worth a picayune. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Picayune
1. a former Spanish-American coin [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Picayune
Literary usage of Picayune
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Holly and Pizen: And Other Stories by Ruth McEnery Stuart (1899)
"... picayune: A CHILD STORY STEVE, familiarly called picayune,— age anywhere from
twenty to thirty-five,— stood four feet ..."
2. The Public Ledger Building, Philadelphia: With an Account of the Proceedings by George William Childs (1868)
"OFFICE OF THE "picayune," NEW ORLEANS, June 8, 1867, MY DEAR SIR : Your telegram
of the 5th inst., addressed to me, renewing your kind invitation made last ..."
3. Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern by Charles Dudley Warner, Hamilton Wright Mabie, Lucia Isabella Gilbert Runkle, George H Warner (1902)
"He was founder of the New Orleans picayune, which became under his direction one
of the leading journals of the South. He wrote ' The War Between the United ..."
4. The African Repository by American Colonization Society (1845)
"WE learn from the New Orleans picayune of the 13th ult., that the Rev. JB Pinney,
our indefatigable agent, has returned to that city after a very successful ..."
5. The Grandissimes by George Washington Cable (1908)
"AURORA'S LAST picayune. NOT often in Aurora's life had joy and trembling so been
mingled in one cup as on this day. Clotilde wept ; and certainly the ..."
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