skimp

Etymology 1

Perhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną (“to skip, dance, gesture, mock”). Cognate with Icelandic skimpa (“to scoff at, scorn”), dialectal Swedish skimpa (“to skip, dance”), Faroese skumpa (“to shove, bump”), German schimpfen (“to grumble, scold”), Dutch schimpen (“to mock, make fun of, scold”).

verb

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.
   I thought Adie was only skimpin' me.

Etymology 2

Probably related to scamp and scrimp.

verb

1. (transitive) To slight; to do carelessly; to scamp.
2. To make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp.
   The temptation to skimp examinations and maintenance procedures, to save time or overcome staff shortages, must be resisted, and supervisors must insist on strict adherence to maintenance schedules and quality of workmanship. 1964 January, “The maintenance of B.R. diesel-electric locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 54
3. (intransitive) To save; to be parsimonious or stingy.

adj

1. (dated, UK, dialect or US, colloquial) Scanty.

noun

1. A skimpy or insubstantial thing, especially a piece of clothing.
   I remembered how fierce it hurt and how it blistered. All that pain from just a skimp of flesh. 2007, George Ella Lyon, With a Hammer for my Heart, page 192
2. (in the plural, colloquial) Underwear.
   While presenting a rundown of the sexiest soap stars in the world in this week's ZOO, Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson very kindly stripped down to her skimps herself. 2007, Zoo Today