What's In A Word?

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Debunked: The word "picnic" refers to the practice of al fresco dining at the lynchings of African-Americans in the post-bellum South.

The UL has this word deriving from the phrase "pick a nigger." In actuality, the word derives from the French pique-nique, meaning the same thing as it does in English--an outing that includes food. "Pique" is either a reference to a leisurely style of eating (as in "pick at your food") or it's a reference to selective delicacies chosen for the outing. "Nique" is a nonsense syllable chosen to rhyme. The word appears in English as early as 1748 in reference to picnics in Germany. The word did not gain widespread use in Britain until c. 1800. From there it moved across the pond to the US.