pindling

¹ American  

[pind-ling] / ˈpɪnd lɪŋ /

adjective

Older Use.

1. puny; sickly; frail; weak.

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Pindling ² American  

[pind-ling] / ˈpɪnd lɪŋ /

noun

1. Lynden Oscar Father of the Bahamas, 1930–2000, Bahamian political leader: first prime minister 1967–92.

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pindling British  

/ ˈpɪndlɪŋ /

adjective

1. peevish or fractious

2. sickly or puny

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Etymology

Origin of pindling

1860–65, pine ² + -ling ¹, on the model of dwindling

Example Sentences

“You’re mighty pindling to be carrying it. Watch you don’t spill it.”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

On the religious side all that they have had is the occasional itinerant preacher, thundering at them of the wrath of God; and on the cultural what Aunt Dalmanutha calls the "pindling" district school.

From Sight to the Blind by Furman, Lucy

Then there was the writing desk; a substantial structure that bore no relation to the pindling rose-and-cream affairs that graced the guest rooms.

From Cheerful—By Request by Ferber, Edna

There is a child, though, Jane they call her, a pindling little thing.

From Up the Hill and Over by Mackay, Isabel Ecclestone

He was only a pindling critter when he pipped the shell, an’ the vi-cis-si-tudes that bird’s been through since he fust scratched would ha’ made a human lay right down and die.

From The Corner House Girls Under Canvas How they reached Pleasant Cove and what happened afterward by Hill, Grace Brooks