squammy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From squamous +‎ -y, where -ous was elided to extract the root. The reduplicated ⟨m⟩ is akin to runny, brimmy, etc. The Philippine slang sense is a semantic loan from Tagalog iskuwater, itself from Philippine English squatter (“poor vagrant; illegal informal settler”) due to resemblance of the first syllable. Compare Tagalog iskuwami.

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈskweɪm.mi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈskwɑːm.mi/
  • (Philippines) IPA(key): /ˈskwaːm.mi/
  • Rhymes: -eɪmi, -ɑmmi

Adjective

squammy (comparative squammier, superlative squammiest)

  1. (dated) Synonym of squamous (“Covered with, made of, or resembling scales; scaly.”).
    Synonyms: squamous, squamose, squamulose; see also Thesaurus:scaly
    Antonyms: esquamulose, scaleless
  2. (Philippines, colloquial, slang) trashy; classless; unrefined; crass; uncultured; vulgar; uncouth (lacking refinement)
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