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Jan 21, 2001 · Although not taught in American learning institutions and literature, it is noted in most Black history professional circles and literature that the origin of the term "picnic" derives from...
Feb 19, 2019 · There is no evidence that the origin of the word traces back to lynchings of African-Americans. The word has French origins and refers to a gathering with food.
The earliest English citation is in 1748, from Lord Chesterfield (Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield) who associates a "pic-nic" with card-playing, drinking, and conversation; around 1800, Cornelia Knight spelled the word as "pique-nique" in describing her travels in France.
Aug 3, 2020 · 1748 (in Chesterfield's "Letters"), but the thing itself apparently was rare before c. 1800 as an English institution [OED]; it originally meant "a fashionable social affair (not necessarily out of doors) in which every partaker contributed something to the general table;" from French piquenique (1690s), perhaps a reduplication of piquer "to pic...
Nov 13, 2023 · The term “picnic” may have originated from the French word “pique-nique” or the phrase “pick-a-nick.” Picnics have a rich history dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, with Victorian-era Europe popularizing them as leisure activities.
Jul 13, 2020 · Images circulating on social media make the claim that the word “picnic” originates from the racist, extrajudicial killings of African Americans. This claim is false.
Jul 7, 2019 · The French root may derive from the verb piquer (‘to peck’ or ‘to pick’) and the noun nique (‘a small amount’ or ‘nothing whatsoever’); but this is just speculation. What is certain, however, is that, originally, it did not refer to anything we would now recognise as a picnic.
