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skimp

Pronunciation: /ˈskɪmp/

The English word “skimp” has 7 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.
  2. To slight; to do carelessly; to scamp.
  3. To make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp.
  4. To save; to be parsimonious or stingy.

adjective

  1. Scanty.

noun

  1. A skimpy or insubstantial thing, especially a piece of clothing.
  2. Underwear.

Etymology

Perhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną (“to skip, dance, gesture, mock”). Cognate with Icelandic skimpa (“to scoff at, scorn”), dialectal Swedish skimpa (“to skip, dance”), Faroese skumpa (“to shove, bump”), German schimpfen (“to grumble, scold”), Dutch schimpen (“to mock, make fun of, scold”). Possibly distantly related to change.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.