Skive off

[nq:1]Does "skive off", meaning "to evade work", come from the same Scandinavian "skive" that means "to pare leather"?[/nq]
M-W.com says, probably.

Best - Donna Richoux

Thus spake Jim Ward:
[nq:1]Does "skive off", meaning "to evade work", come from the same Scandinavian "skive" that means "to pare leather"?[/nq]
No, it comes from the French esquiver , which means "dodge".

The English "skive" (verb), denoting "pare or trim leather" comes from Old Norse skífa , which means "slice" (verb).
Simon R. Hughes

Thus spake Donna Richoux:
[nq:2]Does "skive off", meaning "to evade work", come from the same Scandinavian "skive" that means "to pare leather"?[/nq]
[nq:1]M-W.com says, probably.[/nq]
Does not. The M-W is an American dictionary that doesn't include British English slang (yet).

Simon R. Hughes

[nq:1]Thus spake Donna Richoux:[/nq]
[nq:2]M-W.com says, probably.[/nq]
[nq:1]Does not.[/nq]
You're right I saw the etymology and didn't notice the different definition. In too much of a hurry.
[nq:1]The M-W is an American dictionary that doesn't include British English slang (yet).[/nq]
You do know that American dictionaries include plenty of uses that are chiefly British, rig

[nq:1]Does "skive off", meaning "to evade work", come from the same Scandinavian "skive" that means "to pare leather"?[/nq]
(COD10 for this use)
? ORIGIN C20: perh. from Fr. esquiver ?slink away?. (COD10 for the leather-working verb)
? ORIGIN C19: from ON skífa; rel. to shive.
(MW11CD has only the leather-working verb)
Etymology:perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse

[nq:2]Does "skive off", meaning "to evade work", come from the same Scandinavian "skive" that means "to pare leather"?[/nq]
[nq:1]M-W.com says, probably.[/nq]
MWCD11 doesn't even have this use for the word "skive." Is it possible that M-W.com is more up-to-date and complete than MWCD11? (Answer: "no")

Martin Ambuhl

Thus spake Donna Richoux:

Actually, the usage of "skive" meaning "play truant" is probably too regional to be picked up by many foreign dictionaries.
Simon R. Hughes

[nq:1]You do know that American dictionaries include plenty of uses that are chiefly British, right? I just flipped through "British ... country it goes would be hard to say. But yes, I'd expect it to contain more US slang than UK.[/nq]
Skive, meaning to evade work, was current in the RCAF in the 50s and 60s. WW2 caused a lot of Brit slang to cross the pond, since there were plenty of Canadian

[nq:1]Actually, the usage of "skive" meaning "play truant" is probably too regional to be picked up by many foreign dictionaries.[/nq]
Skiver = idler was not regional in Britain after
the Second World War, since it was common
military jargon, therefore passed on to millions
of servicemen of all regions and all socia classes.

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Can

[nq:1]Skiver = idler was not regional in Britain after the Second World War, since it was common military jargon, therefore passed on to millions of servicemen of all regions and all socia classes.[/nq]
My wife claims that it was popular in Alabama in the 1970s. Her grandmother didn't like skiving off (which included napping while the sun is out).