E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Chiv’y.
A chase in the school game of “Prisoners’ Base” or “Prison Bars.” Probably a gipsy word. One boy sets a chivy, by leaving his bar, when one of the opposite side chases him, and if he succeeds in touching him before he reaches “home,” the boy touched becomes a prisoner.
