picayune
/ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/
"picayune" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“picayune” is an uncommon English word, ranked #58,930 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #58,930
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A small coin of the value of six-and-a-quarter cents; a Spanish coin with a value of half a real; a fippenny bit.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | picayune |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #58,930 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “picayune” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for picayune is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/. Corpus data places it at rank #58,930 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
picayune has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is borrowed from southern French picaillon, pécaillon, picayon (“type of small foreign coin; (informal, especially in the plural) cash, money”), and from its etymon Occitan picalhon, picaioun (“cheaply made Savoyan-Piedmontese coin that was rapidly… The correct English form is picayune, spelled P-I-C-A-Y-U-N-E.
Definition
- 1A small coin of the value of six-and-a-quarter cents; a Spanish coin with a value of half a real; a fippenny bit.
- 2A coin worth five cents (a nickel) or some other low value.
- 3A person regarded as unworthy of respect or useless; also, something of very little value; a trifle.
- 4An argument, fact, or other issue raised (often intentionally) that distracts from a larger issue or fails to make any difference.
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from southern French picaillon, pécaillon, picayon (“type of small foreign coin; (informal, especially in the plural) cash, money”), and from its etymon Occitan picalhon, picaioun (“cheaply made Savoyan-Piedmontese coin that was rapidly demonetized; (by extension) cash, money”), probably from Occitan piquar (“to ring (bells); to knock, strike”) (referring to the clinking of coins in a pocket), originally imitative. The adjective is derived from the noun.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “picayune”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-I-C-A-Y-U-N-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.