chive
Preserved but no longer current.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Where it’s used:
Origin
British & Irish English
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “chive” mean?
Or CHIVEY, a shout, a halloo, or cheer; loud tongued. Probably from CHEVY-CHASE, a boy’s game, in which the word CHEVY is bawled aloud. Dickens uses the word CHIVEY in Bleak House rather freely, but there it is from the other phase of CHEVY-CHASE which follows.
Is “chive” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.