dicky

noun, plural dick·ies.

1. dickey¹.

noun, plural dick·eys.

1. an article of clothing made to look like the front or collar of a shirt, blouse, vest, etc., worn as a separate piece under another garment, as a jacket or dress.Compare vest(def 2), vestee.
2. a detachable linen shirt collar.
3. a bib or pinafore worn by a child.
4. a small bird.
5. a donkey, especially a male.
6. an outside seat on a carriage.
7. British. rumble seat(def 1).

noun plural dickies or dickeys

1. a woman’s false blouse front, worn to fill in the neck of a jacket or low-cut dress
2. a man’s false shirt front, esp one worn with full evening dress
3. Also called: dicky bow British a bow tie
4. mainly British an informal name for a donkey, esp a male one
5. Also called: dickybird, dickeybird a child’s word for a bird, esp a small one
6. a folding outside seat at the rear of some early carsUS and Canadian name: rumble seat
7. Also called: boot Indian an enclosed compartment of a car for holding luggage, etc, usually at the rear

adjective dickier or dickiest

1. British informal in bad condition; shaky, unsteady, or unreliableI feel a bit dicky today

n.

“detached shirt front,” 1811; “a small bird,” 1851; diminutive of dick, but the applications are obscure in both cases.