Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Offensively disgusting or repulsive; sleazy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective slang disgusting or distasteful

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Ultimately from Italian schifo, disgust, or a kindred form such as dialectal Italian (Neopolitan) schifìo or Sicilian schifìu (all from Old French eschif, ill-tempered, fierce, disliking human contact (of wild animals), of Germanic origin; akin to Old English scēoh, shy) + –y.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From skeeve ("to disgust, to loathe"), coming from Italian schifo ("disgust, nausea").

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Examples

Comments

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  • One dictionary notes the etymology: "from Italian schifo, meaning 'disgust.'"

    February 6, 2008

  • Similar meaning to sleazy.

    November 3, 2008

  • Similar meaning to sleazy.

    November 3, 2008

  • Similar meaning to sleazy.

    November 3, 2008

  • See faq to learn how to delete repeated comments!

    November 3, 2008

  • I am two years behind adoarns. Just read this etymology today in Newsweek, in an article by Joan Huston Hall. Who, by the way, ought to be a wordnikker if she isn't already. :)

    August 4, 2010