skive

\ ˈskīv

skives; skived; skiving

Definition of skive

(Entry 1 of 2)

British, informal

: to avoid work or school by staying away or by leaving without permission … 71 per cent said rewards for good ideas and punctuality would make them work harder and not skive … — South Wales Evening Post Tam is 15 and he's skiving school.— Julie Mccaffrey —often used with offI once worked in a hospital garden where my workmate skived off every day with "backache" and disappeared to work on his car at home.— Louis De Bernières

skive

verb (2)

skived; skiving

Definition of skive (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to cut off (a material, such as leather or rubber) in thin layers or pieces : pare

History and Etymology for skive

Verb (1)

probably borrowed from French esquiver "to dodge, sidestep, evade," in part borrowed from Spanish esquivar, derivative of esquivo "unsociable, shy" (earlier also "sinister, evil"), perhaps borrowed from Gothic *skiuh-, going back to Germanic *skeuh-a-; in part borrowed from Italian schivare "to avoid, shun," borrowed from Old French eschuir, eschiver — more at shy entry 1, eschew

Verb (2)

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skīfa to slice

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