chav
[ chav ]
nounChiefly British Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
a young person who wears fashionable sportswear or flashy jewelry but is regarded as badly behaved or as having lower-class taste.
Origin of chav
1First recorded in 1995–2000; perhaps shortening of British slang chavvy “baby, child,” or from Romani chavo “(Romani) boy, youth, unmarried man” or Romani chavi “baby, child,” probably from unrecorded Middle Indic chāva, chāpa “young of an animal,” from Sanskrit śāva
Other words from chav
- chav·ish, chav·vy, adjective
Words Nearby chav
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for chav
chav
/ (tʃæv) /
noun
Southern English informal, derogatory a young working-class person whose tastes, although sometimes expensive, are considered vulgar by some
Origin of chav
1perhaps from Romany chavi a child
Derived forms of chav
- chavish, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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