Brit., Slang a man who lives by his wits, without doing any regular or honest work, esp. one engaged in petty, shady dealings
Origin of spiv
probably variant, variety of spiff: see spiffyspiv
spivWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"spiv." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv>.
APA Style
spiv. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv
spiv
noun
Chiefly British Slang- One, usually unemployed, who lives by one's wits.
- One who shirks work or responsibility; a slacker.
Origin of spiv
Dialectal spif dandified, dandyTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"spiv." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv>.
APA Style
spiv. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv
Noun
(plural spivs)
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"spiv." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv>.
APA Style
spiv. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/spiv
