dicky

American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

noun

dickies plural

1. a variant of dickey.

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dicky ¹ British  

/ ˈdɪkɪ /

noun

1. a woman's false blouse front, worn to fill in the neck of a jacket or low-cut dress

2. a man's false shirt front, esp one worn with full evening dress

3. Also called: dicky bow.  a bow tie

4. an informal name for a donkey, esp a male one

5. Also called: dickybird.   dickeybird.  a child's word for a bird, esp a small one

6. US and Canadian name: rumble seat.  a folding outside seat at the rear of some early cars

7. Also called: boot.  an enclosed compartment of a car for holding luggage, etc, usually at the rear

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dicky ² British  

/ ˈdɪkɪ /

adjective

1. informal in bad condition; shaky, unsteady, or unreliable

   I feel a bit dicky today

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• dickies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dicky¹

C18 (in the senses: donkey, shirt front): from Dickey, diminutive of Dick (name); the relationship of the various senses is obscure

Origin of dicky²

C18: perhaps from the name Dick in the phrase as queer as Dick's hatband feeling ill

Example Sentences

The "Old Whig" answered "The Plebeian," and could not forbear some contempt of "little DICKY, whose trade it was to write pamphlets."

From Johnson's Lives of the Poets — Volume 1 by Johnson, Samuel

Related Words

• choker