dicky

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈdɪki/ UK /ˈdɪki/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
unsound or unsteady; or a detachable shirt front

He felt a bit dicky after the long sea crossing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unsound or unsteady; or a... unsound shaky unsteady unreliable weak faulty precarious

Opposites

sound steady reliable robust

Word family

Related forms dickey

Etymology

Of uncertain origin; both the adjective ('unsound, shaky') and the noun ('detachable shirt front, false collar') are 18th–19th century English colloquialisms, possibly from the pet form of the personal name Richard ('Dick'), though the development is obscure.

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# dicky

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɪki/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdɪki/

## Meanings
1. unsound or unsteady; or a detachable shirt front

## Examples
- He felt a bit dicky after the long sea crossing.

## Synonyms
- unsound
- shaky
- unsteady
- unreliable
- weak
- faulty
- precarious

## Antonyms
- sound
- steady
- reliable
- robust

## Related Forms
- dickey

## Etymology
Of uncertain origin; both the adjective ('unsound, shaky') and the noun ('detachable shirt front, false collar') are 18th–19th century English colloquialisms, possibly from the pet form of the personal name Richard ('Dick'), though the development is obscure.

## AI Etymology
Dicky is of uncertain origin; both the adjective ('unsound, shaky') and the noun ('detachable shirt front, false collar') are 18th–19th century English colloquialisms, possibly from the pet form of the personal name Richard ('Dick'), though the development is obscure. In present use as adjective and noun, it means "unsound or unsteady; or a detachable shirt front", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Its colloquial history matters: the word belongs to informal usage before settling into the present dictionary sense. Related words include dickey.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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