# picayune

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/ · frequency rank #58,930

## Definitions
1. 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.
2. A coin worth five cents (a nickel) or some other low value.
3. A person regarded as unworthy of respect or useless; also, something of very little value; a trifle.
4. An 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/picayune