Chive

//t͡ʃaɪv// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A perennial plant, Allium schoenoprasum, related to the onion.
  2. 2
    A piece cut off; sliver.
  3. 3
    A knife.

    "For when that he hath nubbed as, / And our friends tip him no cole, / He takes his chive and cuts us down, / And tips us into a hole."

  4. 4
    perennial having hollow cylindrical leaves used for seasoning wordnet
  5. 5
    The leaves of this plant used as a herb. attributive, in-plural

    "Chive herb. (attributive use)"

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    The filament which supports the anther of a flower; stamen, especially of saffron. obsolete

    "1577, Raphael Holinshed et al., The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Ireland, London: John Hunne, Book 3, Chapter 14, “Of English Saffron,” […] in the place wher he bled, Saffron was after found to grow, whereupon the people séeyng the color of the chiue as it stoode, (although I doubt not but it grewe there long before) adiudged it to come to the bloude of Crocus, and therefore they gaue it his name."

  2. 7
    A file.
  3. 8
    The spring onion; the green onion; the scallion. Trinidad-and-Tobago, dialectal
  4. 9
    A saw.
Verb
  1. 1
    To stab.

    "Adieu to Haul-Cly, adieu to stopping Coaches, and adieu to all the hurry-scurry of Foot-Scampering, filing, chiving, milling, and sneaking[…]"

  2. 2
    To cut.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English chive~cyve, from Old French chive~cive, from Latin cēpa (“onion”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English chive, chyve, variant of chith, chyth, from Old English ċīþ (“shoot, scion, sprout”). Doublet of chit and scion.

Etymology 3

From Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger, blade”).

Etymology 4

From Romani chive, chiv, chivvomengro (“knife, dagger, blade”).

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