peakling

When asked in an interview about this strange word Faulkner replied:


 * Atcheson Hench:** May I ask you about another word that I noticed, and that's the word "peakling." You said about Jewel, or rather in connection with Jewel it was said, "I told them that's why ma always whipped him and petted him more. Because he was "peakling" around the house.


 * William Faulkner:** That's probably a—a corruption or contraction between "puny" and "weakly." Just like the contraction or corruption between "mist" and "drizzle" becomes "mizzle."

Railton, Stephen. "Faulkner at Virginia: Transcript of Audio Recording Wfaudio11_1." //Faulkner at Virginia: Transcript of Audio Recording Wfaudio11_1//. University of Virginia, 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2013. .