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skivvies

 - 5 dictionary results

skiv⋅vy

1[skiv-ee]
–noun, plural -vies. Informal.
1. Also called skivvy shirt. a man's cotton T-shirt.
2. skivvies, underwear consisting of cotton T-shirt and shorts.
3. a thin sweater with a round neck, usually worn over a blouse, turtleneck, or the like.
Also, scivvy.


Origin:
1925–30; orig. uncert.

skiv⋅vy

2[skiv-ee] noun, plural -vies, verb, -vied, -vy⋅ing. British Disparaging.
–noun
1. a female servant, esp. a chambermaid.
–verb (used without object)
2. to work as a skivvy.

Origin:
1910–15; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Skiv·vies   (skĭv'ēz)   
A trademark used for underwear. This trademark often occurs in lowercase in print: "About 500 yards away, on three destroyers snubbed up to the dock, men were clambering on the deck in their skivvies" (Smithsonian).
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
skivvies [ˈskɪviz]

  1. n.
    underpants; underwear. : I don't have any clean skivvies!
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

skivvies 
"underwear," 1932, nautical slang, of unknown origin. An earlier skivvy/skivey was London slang for "female domestic servant" (1902).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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