dickey

¹ American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

Or dicky,

noun

plural

dickeys

1. an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.

2. a detachable linen shirt collar.

3. a bib or pinafore worn by a child.

4. a small bird.

5. a donkey, especially a male.

6. an outside seat on a carriage.

7. British. rumble seat.

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dickey ² American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

adjective

Chiefly British Slang.

1. not working properly; faulty.

   I'm fed up with this dickey air conditioner.

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Dickey ³ American  

[dik-ee] / ˈdɪk i /

noun

1. James, 1923–97, U.S. poet and novelist.

2. William Bill, 1907–93, U.S. baseball player.

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Etymology

Origin of dickey¹

First recorded in 1745–55; generic use of Dicky, diminutive of Dick, proper name

Origin of dickey²

First recorded in 1805–15; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

She has used a dickey countless times on photo shoots, she says, because it “ties together things quite nicely but doesn’t bulk up or change the silhouette.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 16, 2015

At the presentation of the Veronica Beard Spring 2016 collection in New York Tuesday, a model with her brunette hair slicked back posed in a chambray stretch-linen jacket and a satin straight-collared dickey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 16, 2015

She had a short tawny coat, a dickey of shaggy hair and horns roughly the size and shape of large plantains.

From New York Times • Jul. 3, 2014

His idea was of an undone dandy; hence, the flapping shirt collar and cuffs and the nice extra detail of a cotton dickey.

From New York Times • Jan. 23, 2013

"Then will you tell me please why you always glance about so nervously? You look like a dickey bird in a yard full of cats, as Mr. Pope would say."

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood