n.
A disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C, characterized by spongy and bleeding gums, bleeding under the skin, and extreme weakness.
adj., -vi·er, -vi·est.
Mean; contemptible.
[From Middle English scurfy, characterized by scurf (influenced by French scorbut, scurvy), from scurf, scurf. See scurf.]
scurvily scur'vi·ly adv.scurviness scur'vi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
