limey

Meaning

Adj

1. Resembling limes (the fruit); lime-like.
2. Of, or pertaining to, limes (the fruit).

Noun

1. (slang) An English or British ship.
2. (slang) An Englishman or other Briton, or a person of British descent; an English or British immigrant.

Synonyms

John Bull

British

🇬🇧

Briton

pom

Brit

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈlaɪmi/

Etymology

In adjectival senses, equivalent to lime + -y.
In the sense of “Englishman”, reduced from the 19th century term lime-juicer (“British ship”), from the lime juice British ships carried to ward off scurvy.