# shiv

> English word · Noun · IPA /ʃɪv/ · frequency rank #25,924

## Definitions
1. A knife, especially a makeshift one fashioned from something not normally used as a weapon (like a plastic spoon or a toothbrush).
2. A particular woody by-product of processing flax or hemp.

## Etymology
First attested 1915. From chive, chieve, chife, chiv (“knife”), from Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger, blade”).

## Easily confused with
- **SI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-si)
- **SV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sv)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-six)
- **sir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sir)
- **sit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sit)
- **sin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sin)
- **shy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-shy)
- **ski** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-ski)
- **SIM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sim)
- **sip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sip)
- **sis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sis)
- **sic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sic)
- **SUV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-suv)
- **Sid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sid)
- **sig** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sig)
- **sho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sho)
- **sia** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sia)
- **STI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sti)
- **sie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sie)
- **Sui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shiv-vs-sui)

## Common misspellings (6)
`hsiv`, `shhiv`, `shivv`, `shvi`, `sihv`, `sshiv`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shiv