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dicky

[dik-ee]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dicky ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural dick·ies.

dickey1.

RELATED WORDS

choker, torque, frill, fraise, jabot, fichu, ruff, neckband, Vandyke, Eton, bertha

Nearby words

  1. dickinson, john,
  2. dickite,
  3. dickson,
  4. dickson, leonard eugene,
  5. dickty,
  6. dickybird,
  7. diclinous,
  8. dicofol,
  9. diconal,
  10. dicoria

dickey

1

or dick·y, dick·ie

[dik-ee]

noun, plural dick·eys.

an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.Compare vest(def 2), vestee.
a detachable linen shirt collar.
a bib or pinafore worn by a child.
a small bird.
a donkey, especially a male.
an outside seat on a carriage.
British. rumble seat(def 1).

Origin of dickey

1
1745–55; generic use of Dicky, diminutive of Dick, proper name
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dicky

British Dictionary definitions for dicky

dicky

1

dickey

noun plural dickies or dickeys

a woman's false blouse front, worn to fill in the neck of a jacket or low-cut dress
a man's false shirt front, esp one worn with full evening dress
Also called: dicky bow British a bow tie
mainly British an informal name for a donkey, esp a male one
Also called: dickybird, dickeybird a child's word for a bird, esp a small one
a folding outside seat at the rear of some early carsUS and Canadian name: rumble seat
Also called: boot Indian an enclosed compartment of a car for holding luggage, etc, usually at the rear

Word Origin for dicky

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

adjective dickier or dickiest

British informal in bad condition; shaky, unsteady, or unreliableI feel a bit dicky today

Word Origin for dicky

C18: perhaps from the name Dick in the phrase as queer as Dick's hatband feeling ill
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dicky

dicky

n.

"detached shirt front," 1811; "a small bird," 1851; diminutive of dick, but the applications are obscure in both cases.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper