peckerwood
peckerwood · peckerwoods
A woodpeckerA woodpecker.
UK/ˈpɛkəwʊd/US/ˈpɛkɚwʊd/
Meaning
4 senses(Appalachia, Southern US, slang)A woodpecker.
(Appalachia, Southern US)A peckerwood sawmill.
(US, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur)A white person, especially a Southerner, or one who is ignorant, rustic, or bigoted.
(slang)A white (male) inmate, especially one who is racist or who is a member of a race-based prison gang.
More definitions
- bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects
Origin
Inversion of woodpecker. Application to white people is due to the perception that the wooInversion of woodpecker. Application to white people is due to the perception that the woodpecker is a symbol of whites, whereas the crow or blackbird is a symbol of blacks.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: peckerwoodsSynonyms
4 synonymswhite person:white person
rustic:redneck
Close in meaning
- bird with strong claws and a stiff tail adapted for climbing and a hard chisel-like bill for boring into wood for insects:woodpeckerpecker
Word family
4 related wordsRelatedpeckerhead