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May 18, 2022 · Yet when Southern white people made lynchings a regular occurrence at picnics, the word took on a different meaning for Black Americans. “The word, picnic, carries with it the memory that there was a time when white folks gathered to eat outside, burning black flesh would be on the menu,” explained Treva Lindsey, an associate professor of ...
Jun 15, 2019 · The word picnic (which the OED says did not occur in print in English until 1748, in a letter by Lord Chesterfield) probably originated with the French pique nique found in a 1649 satirical French poem in which Frères Pique-nicques is known for visiting friends “armed with bottles and dishes.” (Kennedy, 2013) The word later was used to ...
So while the word picnic did not start with racist connotations, as far as we’re aware, it did gather that interpretation over time. Words grow and change and gather meaning as history continues ...
The Surprising History of the Picnic. By Google Arts & Culture. Words by Lauren Nemroff. Picture of Learned Men (907) by Sun Wei China Modern Contemporary Art Document. People living in the northern half of the planet are currently celebrating summer, gathering outdoors for a meal. With so many kinds of pre-packaged foods and drinks, the task ...
Feb 18, 2013 · Whether or not you can find or imagine racist overtones in a word, its origins do not change. Others suggest that the original term picnic was changed to refer to lynchings, so that the meaning of the word picnic changed from innocent to racist. There is, however, no evidence that picnic has ever been used in a racist way, despite the fact that ...
The earliest known use of the word picnic is in the mid 1700s. OED's earliest evidence for picnic is from 1748, in a letter by Philip Stanhope, politician and diplomatist. picnic is of multiple origins. A borrowing from French. Perhaps also partly a borrowing from German.
1. a : a meal that is eaten outdoors especially during a trip away from home. We decided to have a picnic on the beach. We ate our picnic by the lake. b : a trip or party that includes a meal eaten outdoors. This weekend I have a family picnic [=a picnic with family members] to go to.
