Nearby words
Origin of skiffle
1perhaps akin to scabble
Definition for skiffle (2 of 2)
skiffle
2[ skif-uh l ]
/ ˈskɪf əl /
noun
a jazz style of the 1920s deriving from blues, ragtime, and folk music, played by bands made up of both standard and improvised instruments.
a style of popular music developed in England during the 1950s, deriving from hillbilly music and rock-'n'-roll, and played on a heterogeneous group of instruments, as guitar, washboard, ceramic jug, washtub, and kazoo.
Origin of skiffle
2First recorded in 1920–25; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for skiffle
You spice it with blues and skiffle music, and pickle it in alcohol and tobacco smoke.
British Dictionary definitions for skiffle (1 of 2)
skiffle
1/ (ˈskɪfəl) /
noun
a style of popular music of the 1950s, played chiefly on guitars and improvised percussion instruments
Word Origin for skiffle
C20: of unknown origin
British Dictionary definitions for skiffle (2 of 2)
skiffle
2/ (ˈskɪfəl) /
noun
Ulster dialect a drizzlea skiffle of rain
Word Origin for skiffle
from Scottish skiff, from skiff to move lightly, probably changed from skift, from Old Norse skipta shift
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 skiffle
skiffle
style of U.K. pop music, 1957, from U.S. slang meaning "type of jazz played on improvised instruments" (1926), of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper