ZebraWords.com - The Definition of 'Scurvy', Synonyms of 'Scurvy' & More on 'Scurvy'

1. WordNet® 3.0 (2006)

scurvy
    adj 1: of the most contemptible kind; "abject cowardice"; "a low
           stunt to pull"; "a low-down sneak"; "his miserable
           treatment of his family"; "You miserable skunk!"; "a
           scummy rabble"; "a scurvy trick" [syn: abject, low,
           low-down, miserable, scummy, scurvy]
    n 1: a condition caused by deficiency of ascorbic acid (vitamin
         C) [syn: scurvy, scorbutus]

2. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Scurvy \Scur"vy\, n. [Probably from the same source as scorbute,
   but influenced by scurf, scurfy, scurvy, adj.; cf. D.
   scheurbuik scurvy, G. scharbock, LL. scorbutus. Cf.
   Scorbute.] (Med.)
   A disease characterized by livid spots, especially about the
   thighs and legs, due to extravasation of blood, and by spongy
   gums, and bleeding from almost all the mucous membranes. It
   is accompanied by paleness, languor, depression, and general
   debility. It is occasioned by confinement, innutritious food,
   and hard labor, but especially by lack of fresh vegetable
   food, or confinement for a long time to a limited range of
   food, which is incapable of repairing the waste of the
   system. It was formerly prevalent among sailors and soldiers.
   [1913 Webster]

   Scurvy grass [Scurvy + grass; or cf. Icel. skarfak[=a]l
      scurvy grass.] (Bot.) A kind of cress (Cochlearia
      officinalis) growing along the seacoast of Northern
      Europe and in arctic regions. It is a remedy for the
      scurvy, and has proved a valuable food to arctic
      explorers. The name is given also to other allied species
      of plants.
      [1913 Webster]

3. The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Scurvy \Scur"vy\, a. [Compar. Scurvier; superl. Scurviest.]
   [From Scurf; cf. Scurvy, n.]
   1. Covered or affected with scurf or scabs; scabby; scurfy;
      specifically, diseased with the scurvy. "Whatsoever man .
      . . be scurvy or scabbed." --Lev. xxi. 18, 20.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Vile; mean; low; vulgar; contemptible. "A scurvy trick."
      --Ld. Lytton.
      [1913 Webster]

            That scurvy custom of taking tobacco. --Swift.
      [1913 Webster]

            [He] spoke spoke such scurvy and provoking terms.
                                                  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

Thesaurus Results for scurvy:

1. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

Lombardy leprosy, abject, abominable, anemia, ariboflavinosis, arrant, atrocious, awful, bad, base, base-minded, beastly, beggarly, beneath contempt, beriberi, blameworthy, brutal, cachexia, cheap, cheesy, chlorosis, common, contemptible, crummy, debased, deficiency anemia, degraded, deplorable, depraved, dermatitis, despicable, detestable, dire, dirty, disgusting, dishonorable, dreadful, egregious, enormous, execrable, fetid, filthy, flagrant, foul, fulsome, gaudy, gimcracky, goiter, grave, greensickness, grievous, gross, hateful, heinous, horrible, horrid, ignoble, infamous, keratomalacia, kwashiorkor, lamentable, little, loathsome, lousy, low, low-down, low-minded, lumpen, maidism, malnutrition, mangy, mean, measly, meretricious, miserable, monstrous, nasty, nefarious, night blindness, noisome, notorious, obnoxious, odious, offensive, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, outrageous, paltry, pathetic, pellagra, pernicious anemia, petty, pitiable, pitiful, poky, poor, protein deficiency, rachitis, rank, regrettable, reprehensible, reptilian, repulsive, rickets, rotten, rubbishy, sad, scabby, scandalous, schlock, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scuzzy, shabby, shameful, shocking, shoddy, small, sordid, sorry, squalid, struma, terrible, too bad, trashy, trumpery, two-for-a-cent, two-for-a-penny, twopenny, twopenny-halfpenny, unclean, unmentionable, valueless, vile, villainous, vitamin deficiency, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, xerophthalmia

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