scurvy
/ˈskɜɹvi/noun
scurvy is spelled S-C-U-R-V-Y: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, scurvy means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of scurvy is scurvies.
How many letters and syllables are in scurvy?
| Letters | 6: S-C-U-R-V-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is scurvy?
Scurvy appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce scurvy?
- UK /ˈskɜːvi/
- US /ˈskɜɹvi/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-scurvy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with scurvy?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as scurvy from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹvi/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of scurvy
- scurvier comparative
- scurviest superlative
- scurvies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does scurvy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
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
derogatoryA contemptible or despicable person.
- 3
obsoleteA cattle disease, perhaps affecting the skin.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteAffected 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
obsoleteOf growths on plants: resembling scurf; scurfy.
- 3
archaicOf a person or thing: disgustingly mean; contemptible, despicable, low.
a scurvy knave a scurvy trick
- 4
archaicOf the way someone is treated: poor, shabby.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Scurvy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disease caused by insufficient intake of vitamin C:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does scurvy come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).