Etymology

limey

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Today it means: Resembling limes (the fruit); lime-like. Full definition →

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The story

In adjectival senses, by surface analysis, lime + -y. In the sense of Englishman, reduced from the 19th century term lime-juicer (“a British ship”), from the lime juice British ships carried to ward off scurvy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.