English
spiv
Spiv may come from Romani spiv ‘sparrow’.
- Romanimodernspiv‘sparrow’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1960spiv
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Romanimodernspiv‘sparrow’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1960spiv
Earliest quotation: 1960, 1959, Colin MacInnes: “I mean, Mayfair is just top spivs stepping into…”
The story
Spiv was the nickname of Henry Bagster, a Londoner arrested a number of times in 1904-6 for activities as described below, and may have been the archetype.
Every English word from Romani spiv
Today it means
noun A smartly dressed person who trades in illicit, black-market or stolen goods, especially during World War II.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Romani spiv / spiv