chav

[ chav ]

noun

, Chiefly British Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a young person who wears fashionable sportswear or flashy jewelry but is regarded as badly behaved or as having lower-class taste.

chav

/ tʃæv /

noun

1. informal.
   a young working-class person whose tastes, although sometimes expensive, are considered vulgar by some

Derived Forms

• ˈchavish, adjective

Other Words From

• chav·ish chav·vy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chav¹

First 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of chav¹

perhaps from Romany chavi a child