n. & adj.
n. a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by swollen bleeding gums and the opening of previously healed wounds, esp. formerly affecting sailors.
adj. (scurvier, scurviest) paltry, low, mean, dishonourable, contemptible. scurvy grass any cresslike seaside plant of the genus Cochlearia, orig. taken as a cure for scurvy. scurvied adj. scurvily adv.
[ SCURF + -Y(1): noun sense by assoc. with F scorbut (cf. SCORBUTIC) ]