Peckerwood is a term used in the Southern United States for a woodpecker which is also used as an offensive epithet toward white people, especially poor rural whites. Originally an ethnic slur, the term has been embraced by a subculture related to prison gangs and outlaw motorcycle clubs. The term was in use as an inversion of woodpecker by the 1830s, with the sense referring to white people documented from the 1850s. African-American folklore in the 1920s contrasted the white "peckerwood" bird with the African-American blackbird. The word became a common term in Jive. History Use of the term, an inversion of woodpecker, dates to the early 19th century. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the earliest printed use to an Alabama newspaper in 1835. Peckerwood was in use in reference to white people by 1859; it often suggested a white person who was rustic or poor. The shortened form peck was in use in the same sense in the 1920s. In African-American folklore during the 1920s, the woodpecker symbolically represented white people, in contrast to the blackbird that represented African-Americans. Subculture Historically, the term "peckerwood" was commonly applied to white prisoners in general. The cemetery at Leavenworth Penitentiary, officially known as Mount Hope, is informally known as "Peckerwood Hill" by prisoners and guards. In the later half of the 20th century the term narrowed to apply to a white subculture associated with street gangs and prison gangs, such as the Aryan Brotherhood. This subculture is also known as PW, P-Dub, or collectively as "the Woodpile". Men in this group are called "peckerwoods" and women "featherwoods". The woodpecker is often used as a general symbol for the group, such as in prison tattoos. It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble Woody Woodpecker or Mr. Horsepower. Sometimes the letters "PW" or "APW" (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) are used. The term is also used for entry-level recruits of the Aryan Brotherhood. Within the prison system, peckerwoods may advance in the social hierarchy and become formal members of the gang, or similar gangs such as the Nazi Lowriders. Becoming a higher-ranking member involves the act of committing more and more serious crimes. Peckerwood is also used by some prison systems as a generic name for any white supremacist threat group, which has sometimes been a source of confusion. In and out of prison, the peckerwood subculture is most common