skinny English · revision 10681

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1400|origins=en skin}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈskɪn.i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[skin]] and [[-y]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Resembling skin, made of skin or film: about 1400 in Etymonline, 1573 in the OED and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense lean or emaciated, showing skin with little flesh under it, is from about 1600, 1605 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Mean or stingy is from 1833.^(OED 1989) Of clothes, tight-fitting, is by 1970.^(Etymonline) The noun ''the skinny'', the real facts or inside information, is World War II military slang,^(Etymonline) 1938 in Merriam-Webster,^(MWU 2024) perhaps from the idea of the “naked” truth.^(Etymonline) A ''skinny latte'' is made with skimmed milk.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – like skin.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1605 – thin, lean.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – stingy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1938 – the skinny, inside information.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1970 – tight-fitting.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very [[thin]]; having little flesh.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of clothes, tight-fitting.^(Etymonline)

+ # Of a drink, made with skimmed milk: ''a skinny latte''.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of or like skin.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''the skinny'' ''(informal, chiefly US)'': inside [[information]]; the real facts.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[skinniness]]

+ * [[skinny-dip]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[skin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}