Dictionary

scampy en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈskæmpi/ (UK)

Etymology

From scamp + -y.

Meanings

1. scampish
   • Very often, after they sow their wild oats, some of those scampy young fellows settle down and marry a nice young girl and turn out very good husbands. 1901, Miles Franklin, “One Grand Passion”, in My Brilliant Career, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, page 101:
   • The woman had collected a lot of stray dogs and I was petting the dogs and all of a sudden I looked at one--he was kind of scampy with a know-it-all look on his face--and I saw he was holding my diaphragm in his mouth. 1991 December 20, Toni Schlesinger, “Heart Beat”, in Chicago Reader:
   • Thanks to his association with Fossey, Sembagare rises in life from scampy village tour guide to responsible adjutant. 1988 September 30, Henry Sheehan, “The White Woman's Burden”, in Chicago Reader:

Forms