Peckerwood

Peckerwood

Peckerwood (or simply Wood) is a pejorative slang term coined in the 19th century by southern Black Americans to describe poor whites. This word is still widely used by southern blacks to refer to southern whites. [http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/peckerwood.asp Hate On Display: Peckerwood] hate group resource page maintained by the Anti-Defamation League. Accessed January 16, 2007.]

In the 1940s, the abbreviated version "wood" entered California prison slang, originally meaning an Okie; but in about 1970 it became applied to white inmates as a whole, regardless of background.Fact|date=May 2008 This has caused the symbol of the woodpecker to be used by white power skinheads.Fact|date=May 2008 Many white supremacists identify themselves as peckerwoods, with women referred to as featherwoods. Fact|date=May 2008It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble Woody Woodpecker. Sometimes the letters "PW" or "APW" (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) is used.

The exact etymological relationship between "peckerwood" and "woodpecker" is unclear. It is reported that in some Appalachian dialects, "peckerwood" is the normal word for "woodpecker" (possibly as part of a larger grammatical pattern); from this, it is speculated that speakers of other dialects may have applied this word to speakers of that dialect as a form of metonymic derision. (Cf. the speculated etymology of spic from "no spic English".)

Other uses

Peckerwood is also a place name in the musical "Mame".

The prisoners' cemetery at Leavenworth Prison in Kansas is known as Peckerwood Cemetery. [http://www.lvks.org/wayside%20tour/federal_prison.htm Leavenworth Federal Prison] page created by the City of Leavenworth. Accessed January 16, 2007.]

The prisoners' cemetery at Sycamore Street and Bearkat Boulerylevard in Huntsville, Texas is known as Peckerwood Hill. The largest of many prisoner cemeteries operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, its formal name is the Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery. The nickname came about because most of the prisoners buried there were poor whites. The 22-acre facility is still in use and has graves dating back to 1870. It is also the burial place of Kiowa Chief Satanta, imprisoned in 1871 by the United States after a raid on a wagon train. [http://www.houstonpress.com/Issues/1995-04-06/news/news.html Down on Peckerwood Hill: It's the last stop for some Texas prison inmates.] By Steve McVicker, April 6, 1995 in the "Houston Press". Accessed January 16, 2007.]

Peckerwood Creek is a tributary of the Coosa River in Alabama. This has also been suggested as an origin of the pejorative.

In Robert Ferrigno's "Prayers for the Assassin", the citizens of the Bible Belt are referred to as "peckerwoods" by their neighbours in the Islamic Republic to the north.

ee also

* Cracker
* Redneck
* White trash

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • peckerwood — ☆ peckerwood [pek′ər wood΄ ] n. [inversion of WOODPECKER] Dial. POOR WHITE: a term of contempt …   English World dictionary

  • peckerwood — /pek euhr wood /, n. 1. Midland and Southern U.S. woodpecker. 2. Southern U.S. Slang (disparaging and offensive). See poor white. adj. 3. Southern U.S. small or insignificant: He makes a living farming and running a peckerwood sawmill. [1825 35,… …   Universalium

  • peckerwood — n American a white person. This derogatory term has been used by black and white alike and uses the southern American name for the red headed woodpecker (the link is the reference to that bird s red neck). The term is sometimes abbreviated to… …   Contemporary slang

  • peckerwood — peck•er•wood [[t]ˈpɛk ərˌwʊd[/t]] n. usage: peckerwood is a dialectal term. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as insulting. dial. off Southern U.S. sl.: disp. and off. poor white • Etymology: 1825–35, amer.; inversion of… …   From formal English to slang

  • Peckerwood Garden — is a Garden Conservation Foundation garden located in Hempstead, Texas. The garden was founded by John G. Fairey, who gathered seeds of rare and endangered plants through a series of expeditions into Mexico.The garden is located between Austin… …   Wikipedia

  • Peckerwood Knob Cabins — (Big Cedar,США) Категория отеля: 2 звездочный отель Адрес: 63347 Hawk Lane, B …   Каталог отелей

  • peckerwood mill — noun or peckerwood sawmill chiefly South : a small usually portable sawmill characterized by slipshod equipment and operation …   Useful english dictionary

  • peckerwood sawmill — noun see peckerwood mill …   Useful english dictionary

  • peckerwood — noun Etymology: probably inversion of woodpecker Date: 1904 often disparaging a rural white Southerner …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • peckerwood — noun /ˈpɛkəwʊd/ A white person, especially a Southerner, or when regarded as ignorant or rustic. All the time I was stretched out on the infirmary cot I kept looking at the blank walls and seeing the mean, murdering faces of those Southern… …   Wiktionary

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