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scurvy

 - 6 dictionary results

scur⋅vy

  [skur-vee] noun, adjective, -vi⋅er, -vi⋅est.
Use scurvy in a Sentence
–noun
1. Pathology. a disease marked by swollen and bleeding gums, livid spots on the skin, prostration, etc., due to a diet lacking in vitamin C.
–adjective
2. contemptible; despicable; mean: a scurvy trick.
Origin:
1555–65; scurf + -y 1

Related forms:
scur⋅vi⋅ly, adverb
scur⋅vi⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To scurvy
scur·vy   (skûr'vē)   
n.  A disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by spongy and bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and extreme weakness.
adj.   scur·vi·er, scur·vi·est
Mean; contemptible.

[From Middle English scurfy, characterized by scurf (influenced by French scorbut, scurvy), from scurf, scurf; see scurf.]
scur'vi·ly adv., scur'vi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
scurvy [ˈskɚvi]

  1. mod.
    repulsive; gross. (Collegiate.) : That class is scurvy. You'll wish you hadn't taken it.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

scurvy 
c.1565, noun use of adj. scurvy (c.1425), variant of scurfy (see scurf). It took on the meaning of Du. scheurbuik, Fr. scorbut "scurvy," the disease characterized by swollen and bleeding gums, prostration, etc., perhaps from O.N. skyrbjugr, perhaps lit. "a swelling (bjugr) from drinking sour milk (skyr) on long sea voyages;" but O.E.D. has alternate etymology of M.Du. or M.L.G. origin, as "disease that lacerates the belly," from schoren "to lacerate" + M.L.G. buk, Du. buik "belly."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: scur·vy
Pronunciation: 'sk&r-vE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural scur·vies
: a disease caused by alack of vitamin C and characterized by spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, and bleeding into the skin and mucous membranescalled also scorbutus
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

scurvy scur·vy (skûr'vē)
n.
A disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C and characterized by spongy bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and weakness.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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