tommy
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L303095 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈtɑmi/ / /ˈtɒmi/
name
Etymology: Etymology tree Aramaic תאמא Aramaic תאומאbor. Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς (Thōmâs)bor. Latin Thōmāsbor. Middle English Thomas Middle English Thomme English Tom Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English Tommy From Tom + -y.
- A diminutive of the male given name Thomas.
“The Tory hard right is in the ascendancy, and a fascist street movement – led by convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson – represents a growing threat.”
- A diminutive of the female given name Thomasina.
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Aramaic תאמא Aramaic תאומאbor. Ancient Greek Θωμᾶς (Thōmâs)bor. Latin Thōmāsbor. Middle English Thomas Middle English Thomme English Tom Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English Tommy From Tom + -y.
- Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins, a typical private in the British army; a British soldier.
“Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?" But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll”
“And every night now he played pontoon, that game of the Tommies, with Mrs Bolton, gambling with sixpences.”
- Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins, a typical private in the British army; a British soldier.
“May was in New Zealand when war broke out, and immediately left for France, where she worked in a military hospital in a converted high school in Marseilles. Writing home, she said that the French officers were said to be 'fussy' so she was glad to be nursing the Tommies (meaning French rank and file): 'they are brave and good, and patient, and such grateful patients. They are helpful to each other, and take such an interest in their fellow sufferers.'”
- A lesbian.
“Here, here, here again! Coquettes, flirts, harlots, adultereſſes, tulips, pinks, roſes, lilies, violets, wormwood, fennel, and hemlock! Unnatural, unnatural, unnatural! Tommies, Tommies, Tommies! Women kiſſing women; doating, languiſhing, dying, pining, crying, caterwauling, for each other! Ha, ha, ha! O the madneſs of this age!”
- Ellipsis of tommy boy.
verb
Etymology: Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).
- To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money.