peckerwood

US: (pek′ər wŏŏd′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

peck•er•wood  (pek′ər wŏŏd′), n. 

1. Dialect Terms [Midland and Southern U.S.] woodpecker.
2. Dialect Terms [Southern U.S. Slang] (disparaging and offensive). See poor white. 

adj. 

3. Dialect Terms [Southern U.S.] small or insignificant:
   He makes a living farming and running a peckerwood sawmill.

• 1825–35, American; pecker + wood¹; inversion of woodpecker