Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spiv

/spɪv/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.55 in modern English

Syllables: spiv
IPA: /spɪv/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.

British usage

noun

A flashy con artist, often homeless, who lives by his wits.

British usage; Dated

noun

A low and common thief.

British usage; Dated

noun

A slacker; one who shirks responsibility.

British usage; Dated

Example Sentences

"I mean, Mayfair is just top spivs stepping into the slippers of the former gentry, and Belgravia, like I've said, is all flats in houses built as palaces, and Chelsea—well!"
"It was Robeson who introduced me to the other blacks in New York, the Show Boat cast, the hangers-on, girlfriends, spivs, and bookies. "My people," he called them, "my brothers and sisters" […]"
"I make no apology for attacking spivs and gamblers who did more harm to the British economy than [transport union leader] Bob Crow could achieve in his wildest Trotskyite fantasies, while paying themselves outrageous bonuses underwritten by the taxpayer."

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps from spiff, spiffy. Spiv was the nickname of Henry Bagster, a Londoner arrested a number of times in 1904-6 for activities as described below, and may have been the archetype. Also possibly from Romani spiv (“sparrow”), as active and opportunistic.

Word Breakdown

Root: spiv

Usage

British usage
Dated

Inflected Forms

spivs (plural)

Derived Forms

spivish spivvery spivvish spivvy

Synonyms

sharper chiseler wide boy bunco-steerer charlatan cheat jackal cheater cozener defrauder finagler fleecer

Rhymes With

give live forgive liv tel aviv expansive div relive shiv sieve sedative outlive

Questions

How do you pronounce spiv?: The recorded pronunciation is /spɪv/.
What does spiv mean?: A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.
Where does spiv come from?: Unknown. Perhaps from spiff, spiffy. Spiv was the nickname of Henry Bagster, a Londoner arrested a number of times in 1904-6 for activities as described below, and may have been the archetype. Also possibly from Romani spiv (“sparrow”), as active and opportunistic.

How to pronounce spiv

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spiv”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/spɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “spiv”.
Repeat and practice — Say “spiv” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.