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

And all the reason for it that one could see was that pindling, hollow-eyed young fellow who had entered the room in her wake.

From Aurora the Magnificent by Brownell, Gertrude Hall

Always after Ellen's mother had said to her father that she thought Ellen looked pindling he was late about coming home from the shop, and would turn in at the gate laden with paper parcels.

From The Portion of Labor by Freeman, Mary Eleanor Wilkins

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

A pindling scrawny little thing, about ten years old.

From Gigolo by Ferber, Edna