Picayune

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌpɪkəˈjuːn/

Definitions

1. Lacking significance or worth, often reflecting trivial concerns or minor details
2. Pertaining to an overly cautious attitude focusing on negligible aspects rather than larger issues
3. Having minimal value or importance, often referring to things that are trivial or insignificant ; displaying a petty or small-minded attitude focused on inconsequential matters

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "picayune" is that it began as the name of a tiny coin. In the American South, a picayune was a Spanish half-real piece, minted in Mexico in 1799, worth about six and a quarter cents. Its name traces back through southern French "picaillon" to Occitan "picalhon," a cheaply made coin from Savoy and Piedmont that was quickly withdrawn from circulation. The Occitan verb "piquar," meaning to ring or strike, is the likely source, the idea being the faint clink of coins in a pocket. The adjective grew out of the noun. Because a picayune was so small a sum, calling something picayune meant it was trivial, and eventually it came to describe people and attitudes that fixated on petty details at the expense of larger concerns. The shift from a sound of jingling money to a sneer at fussy small-mindedness is a neat one, and it happened entirely through the coin's low value.

Synonyms: petty, trivial, insignificant, minor, unimportant

Antonyms: important, significant, major, notable, consequential