chivvy

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈtʃɪvi/ UK /ˈtʃɪvi/ See IPA manual

Homophones

chivy /ˈtʃɪv.i/

Meanings

1

verb
to repeatedly tell someone to do something, often in an annoying way

She chivvied him into completing his homework.
2

verb
to hurry or rush someone along

The teacher chivvied the students out of the classroom.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to repeatedly tell someone... nag pester badger harass hound

2 verb · to hurry or rush someone along chase hurry urge hustle drive

Opposites

leave aloneignore

Simplified etymology

Chivvy probably comes from the border ballad “Chevy Chase,” which celebrates a skirmish associated with the Anglo-Scottish conflicts. First used in the late 18th century as a noun for a hunting cry, it came to mean a pursuit and then developed the verb senses “chase” and “worry.”

Etymology

Origin uncertain, possibly from British Romani chiv ('to go'); Modern English chivvy, 'to harass or nag persistently'.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# chivvy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈtʃɪvi/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtʃɪvi/

## Meanings
1. to repeatedly tell someone to do something, often in an annoying way
2. to hurry or rush someone along

## Examples
- She chivvied him into completing his homework.
- The teacher chivvied the students out of the classroom.

## Synonyms
- nag
- pester
- badger
- harass
- hound
- chase
- hurry
- urge
- hustle
- drive

## Antonyms
- leave alone
- ignore

## Etymology
Origin uncertain, possibly from British Romani chiv ('to go'); Modern English chivvy, 'to harass or nag persistently'.

## AI Etymology
Chivvy is traced through origin uncertain, possibly from British Romani chiv ('to go'); Modern English chivvy, 'to harass or nag persistently'. In current use it is a verb meaning "to repeatedly tell someone to do something, often in an annoying way". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The uncertainty belongs to the etymology itself and should be kept: the older ancestry is not presented as more secure than it is. The safest dictionary treatment is to keep the secure forms and the uncertainty together, since the doubtful step is part of the word's history rather than a gap to fill by guesswork.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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