scurvy

Meaning

Noun

1. (uncountable, usually) A disease caused by insufficient intake of vitamin C, leading to the formation of livid spots on the skin, spongy gums, loosening of the teeth, and bleeding into the skin and from almost all mucous membranes; (countable, obsolete) an occurrence of this disease.
2. (countable, derogatory, figuratively, usually) A contemptible or despicable person.
3. (broadly, obsolete, uncountable, usually) A cattle disease, perhaps affecting the skin.

Adj

1. (obsolete) Affected or covered with scurf (“skin disease causing flakes of skin to fall off”) or scabs; scurfy, scabby; also, of or relating to a skin disease causing scurf or to scurvy (noun sense 1).
2. (broadly, obsolete) Of growths on plants: resembling scurf; scurfy.
3. (archaic, figuratively) Of a person or thing: disgustingly mean; contemptible, despicable, low.
4. (archaic, figuratively) Of the way someone is treated: poor, shabby.

Synonyms

scorbutus

low

vile

ignoble

miserable

contemptible

scummy

scurrilous

low-down

shabby

abject

sordid

mean

infamous

lewd

lousy

lowbred

lowdown

low-minded

miscreant

ornery

raffish

rascally

ratty

rotten

scabby

scoundrel

septicemia

shoddy

sorry

tawdry

villainous

vulgar

worthless

malnutrition

rickets

scurrile

scorbut

bitchy

blood poisoning

caddish

cheap

coarse

common

consumption

depraved

dirty

discourteous

foul

hangdog

Translations

scorbut

scorbuto

Skorbut

escorbuto

scheurbuik

escorbuto

Scharbock

escorbut

σκορβούτο

iskorbüt

scorbutus

schunnig

vile

gemein

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈskɝvi/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: scheurbuik

Cognate with French: scorbut

Cognate with Icelandic: skyrbjúgur

Cognate with Swedish: skörbjugg

Cognate with German: Scharbock

In summary

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English scurvi, scurvy, variants of scurfi (“having scurf, scabby”), from scurf (“skin disease causing scabs or scales; flakes of skin that fall off due to a skin disease, etc.”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Scurf is derived from Old English scurf, from Proto-Germanic *skurf- (“to gnaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut off, sever; to divide, separate”). By surface analysis, scurf (“skin disease; flakes of skin that fall off due to a skin disease; crust-like formations on the skin”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives).
The noun is derived from the adjective. It was used to translate the similar-sounding Dutch scheurbuik, French scorbut, Middle Low German schorbūk (“scurvy (disease)”), etc.