What does chevy mean?
"Chevy" is an archaic and chiefly literary word meaning to chase or pursue something persistently, and as a noun it denotes the chase itself. Its most familiar modern appearance may be in the phrase "to give chevy," though even that survives mainly in older texts and regional speech. The word's origin lies in the famous English and Scottish border ballad "The Ballad of Chevy Chase," which commemorates a hunting expedition and battle in the Cheviot Hills between England and Scotland; the name of those hills derives ultimately from Old English, while the verb sense was reinforced by the French "chevauchée," meaning a cavalry raid, which also gave English words such as "cavalier" and "chivalry." Today "chevy" is rarely encountered outside historical fiction, dialect literature, and discussions of the ballad tradition, making it a curiosity for lovers of etymology rather than a word in everyday circulation.
A chase or pursuit.
"The stag led them a merry chevy over hill and dale."
To chase or pursue persistently.
"They chevyed the runaway horse across three fields."
Rarely used in the plural, as the noun sense itself is archaic.
"The old ballads are full of chevies across the border hills."
'Chevy' comes not from cars but from a medieval border ballad — 'Chevy Chase' — itself rooted in the French word for a cavalry raid.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chevy
"Chevy" derives from "Chevy Chase," the title of a celebrated border ballad describing a hunt and skirmish in the Cheviot Hills on the Anglo-Scottish frontier. The place name "Cheviot" traces back through Middle English forms, and the chase sense was strengthened by association with the French "chevauchée" (a cavalry raid), which shares a deeper root with "cavalier," "cavalry," and "chivalry." The verb entered English in the sixteenth century, attested by Shakespeare's era, and has been fading ever since.
How chevy is actually used
Archaic, dialectal, and literary; rare in modern usage outside historical or regional contexts. The verb is more common than the noun today.
Easily confused with chevy
'Chevy' as a noun commonly refers to a Chevrolet automobile in American English, entirely unrelated to the verb meaning to chase.