Etymologically
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skinny

Etymology and origin of the English word skinny

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1400
Ultimate origin
English (skin)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈskɪn.i/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from skin and -y.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Resembling skin, made of skin or film: about 1400 in Etymonline, 1573 in the OED and Merriam-Webster.[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense lean or emaciated, showing skin with little flesh under it, is from about 1600, 1605 in the OED.[2][4] Mean or stingy is from 1833.[4] Of clothes, tight-fitting, is by 1970.[2] The noun the skinny, the real facts or inside information, is World War II military slang,[2] 1938 in Merriam-Webster,[3] perhaps from the idea of the “naked” truth.[2] A skinny latte is made with skimmed milk.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1400 – like skin.[2]
  • 1605 – thin, lean.[4]
  • 1833 – stingy.[4]
  • 1938 – the skinny, inside information.[3]
  • 1970 – tight-fitting.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Very thin; having little flesh.
  2. Of clothes, tight-fitting.
  3. Of a drink, made with skimmed milk: a skinny latte.
  4. Of or like skin.

Noun

  1. the skinny (informal, chiefly US): inside information; the real facts.

Word family

  • skinniness
  • skinny-dip

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Skinny.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/skinny. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·