I think the more general sense of the word has actually had a much wider provenance than is recognised.

The Oxford English definition I gave earlier indicated the term as "a West Indian negro derivative of Spanish pequeno or Portuguese pequenho little or small, perhaps based on Portuguese diminutive pequenino" meaning "A little one, a child: applied especially to the children of Negroes", but also "A child in general" or as an adjective "Very small, tiny, baby".