skivvyn.1
/ˈskɪvi/, U.S. /ˈskɪvi/ colloquial (usually derogatory).
A female domestic servant, esp. a maid-of-all-work. Also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > [noun] > maid or housemaid > maid-of-all-work
general servant1725
servant of all work1754
maid-of-all-work1801
slavey1821
universal maid1840
marchioness1883
skivvy1902
1902 H. Baumann Londinismen (ed. 2) 211/2 Skivey,..slav(e)y.
1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. ii. iv. 195 The ball had landed twice..on the same balcony to the great annoyance of the ‘skivvy’, who was..invited to bung it down.
1915 W. Owen Let. 23 Nov. (1967) 367 I never thought myself capable of such strenuosities as to do skivvy's drudgery.
1922 Glasgow Herald 23 Feb. 4 The domestic servant need not worry herself a great deal about the ill-natured sneers of ‘slavey’ and ‘skivvy’ which are levelled at her.
1924 ‘O. Onions’ Ghosts in Daylight 177 One little skivvy in a shabby black frock and re-soled shoes.
1927 A. Bennett Woman who stole Everything 189 Never keep modern skivvies with all them floors unless ye have to save 'em a-running up and a-running down.
1929 G. W. Deeping Roper's Row xxii. § 4 I saw Old Blizzard out on Sunday walking with the skivvy.
1938 L. Durrell Black Book 240 Gwen, that dirty little skivvy, smelling of..grease from the sink!
1947 E. Wilson Europe without Baedeker viii. 206 You were waited on by slovenly skivvies so pallidly unappetizing that they made the meager food seem more tasteless.
1961 ‘F. O'Brien’ Hard Life vii. 52 The young people of today think the daddy is a tramp and the mammy a poor skivvy.
1974 Times 1 May 4/5 This represents a change in the nurses' attitude. No longer will you be the skivvies of the health service.
1977 Punch 31 Aug. 331/1 Blossom, the strikingly handsome new scivvy, is mixing her a posset.
Derivatives
ˈskivvy v. intransitive to work as a skivvy.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > servant > personal or domestic servant > domestic servant > be in domestic service [verb (intransitive)] > do duties of skivvy
skivvy1931
1931 R. Campbell Georgiad ii. 44 Every Nellie, Gertie Or Daisy that..ever left her own unlettered stews To skivvy in the kitchen of the Muse.
1974 W. Foley Child in Forest ii. 156 She come up to skivvy in the same place as you, then?
ˈskivvying n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > [noun] > subordinate
under-service1598
skivvying1968
1968 Punch 21 Feb. 287/1 There are now better jobs than skivvying to look for, and wages sometimes comparable with what the job-seeking housewife herself might be earning.
1973 J. Thomson Death Cap ii. 33 It wasn't no skivvying job... Mrs King treated me like a friend.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
skivvyn.2
/ˈskɪvi/, U.S. /ˈskɪvi/ 1. North American slang (originally Nautical).
a. An undershirt, a vest. Also skivvy shirt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > underwear > [noun] > vest or undershirt
chemiseeOE
sarkOE
shirtOE
wyliecoat1478
semmitc1485
commission1567
shift1601
undershirt1648
mish1667
subucula1695
linder1768
surcoat1768
smish1807
under-vest1813
flesh-bag1819
under-tunic1819
vest1851
underfug1924
skivvy1932
wife-beater1993
1932 J. L. D'Esque Count in Fo'c'sle 216 He cut away the unconscious engineer's shirt and skivie with his jack-knife.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §900/6 Skivvie shirt, an undervest.
1944 C. Mackenzie Sailors of Fortune 95 The Red Cross woman brought me khaki trousers, scivvy shirt and a left shoe.
1946 T. Heggen Mister Roberts 7 It now contained a soiled scivvy shirt.
1967 ‘J. Cross’ To Hell for Half-a-crown ii. 36 The..biceps straining at the white skivvy shirt.
1978 W. Hjortsberg Falling Angel xxxviii. 184 Ethan Krusemark, wearing boxer shorts and a skivvy, lay on his back..doing leg presses.
b. In plural. Underclothes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > underwear > [noun]
linenc1330
napery1598
small clothes1625
linings1631
unders1731
underdress1788
unmentionable1791
unexpressible1810
underclothes1824
underclothing1835
unmentionabilities1840
underthings1864
underwear1872
under-gear1883
innerwear1904
scanty1928
smalls1934
long john1941
skivvy1945
1945 Seafarers' Log 9 Nov. 6/3 Chips appeared, also gassed up, in his skivvies.
1953 S. Bellow Adventures of Augie March 28 We had to brush our teeth with salt..and sleeping in skivvies, was outlawed; we had to wear pajamas.
1972 R. White Be not Afraid xvii. 206 We jumped out of our sleeping bags.., only realizing after we had recovered the gear that we were barefoot and in skivvies in subzero weather.
2. A high-necked lightweight pullover or jumper.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > jumper or jersey > types of > other
pointelle1892
turtle-neck1897
slip-over1919
polo jersey1925
polo jumper1925
polo sweater1925
Sloppy Joe1942
polo neck1959
thick-knit1961
sweater-shirt1964
skinny-rib1965
skivvy1967
mock1989
1967 Telegraph (Brisbane) 27 Feb. 14/4 (caption) This waistcoat should be a winner on the winter scene teamed with white long-sleeved skivvy.
1972 New York 8 May 20/1 (advt.) Sleeveless skivvy (shown under the cardigans) in peach or pale blue.
1972 D. Sale Love Bite xix. 239 She was wearing a navy-blue jump suit over a black skivvy, so that she wouldn't be seen in the dark.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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