gi

¹ American  

[gee] / gi /

Or gie

noun

1. a lightweight, two-piece, usually white garment worn by barefooted martial-arts participants, consisting of loose-fitting pants and a wraparound jacket with cloth belt.

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Gi ² American  

1. gilbert; gilberts.

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GI ³ American  

[jee-ahy] / ˈdʒiˈaɪ /

Or G.I.

noun

plural

GI's, GIs

1. a member or former member of the U.S. armed forces, especially an enlisted soldier.

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adjective

1. rigidly adhering to military regulations and practices; regimented; spit-and-polish.

   a platoon leader who tried to be more GI than anyone else.

2. of a standardized style or type issued by the U.S. armed forces.

   GI shoes; GI blankets.

3. conforming to the regulations or practices of the U.S. armed forces.

   Every recruit must get a GI haircut.

4. of, relating to, or characteristic of a U.S. enlisted person.

   a typical peacetime GI complaint.

verb (used with object)

GI'd, GI'ing

1. to clean in preparation for inspection.

   to GI the barracks.

verb (used without object)

GI'd, GI'ing

1. to follow military regulations and customs closely; shape up.

   You'd better learn to GI if you want to be promoted.

gi. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. gill; gills.

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G.I. ⁵ American  

Also g.i.

abbreviation

1. galvanized iron.

2. gastrointestinal.

3. general issue.

4. government issue.

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GI ¹ British  

noun

1. a soldier in the US Army, esp an enlisted man

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adjective

1. conforming to US Army regulations; of standard government issue

GI ² British  

abbreviation

1. gastrointestinal

2. glycaemic index

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Gi ³ British  

abbreviation

1. gilbert

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gi ⁴ British  

/ ɡiː /

noun

1. a loose-fitting white suit worn in judo, karate, and other martial arts

   a karate gi

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gi ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. Gibraltar

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Etymology

Origin of gi¹

1970–75; shortening of Japanese jūdō-gi jujitsu garb, equivalent to jūdō judo + -gi, combining form of ki to wear

Origin of GI³

1915–20; originally abbreviation of galvanized iron, used in U.S. Army bookkeeping in entering articles (e.g., trash cans) made of it; later extended to all articles issued (as an assumed abbreviation of government issue ) and finally to soldiers themselves

Example Sentences

Many followed his mother's request to attend the ceremony wearing a gi, the uniform worn in Jiu-Jitsu.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2022

Gone was the dated costume — “we weren’t going to make a movie about a guy in a gi and a headband, walking around Central Park karate-chopping people,” Callaham said — and the stilted English.

From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2021

Karate, another first on the Olympics calendar, felt ground-breaking for a similar reason, with men and women wearing the sport’s classic gi.

From Washington Post • Aug. 6, 2021

Put on your intellectual gi, because your media-studies class begins now.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 18, 2021

The world's ultimate pragmatist just shrugs and says: "NhUng gi minh mong it khi nao no jcay ra. Nhung gi minh khong muon thi no lai cti den."

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan