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'''G.I.''' is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army"<ref name="collins">{{cite web|date=2019|title=G.I. Definition from CollinsDictionary.com|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/gi|access-date=11 November 2023|work=Collins Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Penguin Random House LLC}}</ref> It is mostly deeply associated with [[World War II]],<ref name="wordorig" /> but continues to see use.<ref name="Rawson" />
'''G.I.''' is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army"<ref name="collins">{{cite web|date=2019|title=G.I. Definition from CollinsDictionary.com|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/gi|access-date=11 November 2023|work=Collins Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Penguin Random House LLC}}</ref> It is mostly deeply associated with [[World War II]],<ref name="wordorig" /> but continues to see use.<ref name="Rawson" />


It was originally an [[acronym]] used in [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] paperwork for items made of [[Galvanization|galvanized]] iron.<ref name="wordorig">{{cite web|last=Wilton|first=Dave|date=2 February 2009|title=G.I. – Wordorigins.org|url=https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/gi|access-date=11 November 2023|website=Word Origins|publisher=Wordorigins.org}}</ref> The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906<ref name="Rawson">{{cite web| first=Hugh | last=Rawson | url=https://www.americanheritage.com/why-do-we-say-gi | title=Why do we say "G.I."? | publisher=American Heritage | volume=57 | issue=2 | date=April–May 2006}}</ref> or 1907.<ref name="wordorig" />
It was originally an [[acronym|initialism]] used in [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] paperwork for items made of [[Galvanization|galvanized]] iron.<ref name="wordorig">{{cite web|last=Wilton|first=Dave|date=2 February 2009|title=G.I. – Wordorigins.org|url=https://www.wordorigins.org/big-list-entries/gi|access-date=11 November 2023|website=Word Origins|publisher=Wordorigins.org}}</ref> The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906<ref name="Rawson">{{cite web| first=Hugh | last=Rawson | url=https://www.americanheritage.com/why-do-we-say-gi | title=Why do we say "G.I."? | publisher=American Heritage | volume=57 | issue=2 | date=April–May 2006}}</ref> or 1907.<ref name="wordorig" />


During [[World War I]], U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German [[artillery]] [[Shell (projectile)|shells]] as "G.I. cans".<ref name="wordorig" /><ref name="Rawson" /> During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue"<ref name="wordorig" /> or "general issue",<ref name="Rawson" /> began being used used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army<ref name="Rawson" /> (e.g. "G.I. soap"<ref name="Rawson" />). Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".<ref name="Rawson" />
During [[World War I]], U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German [[artillery]] [[Shell (projectile)|shells]] as "G.I. cans".<ref name="wordorig" /><ref name="Rawson" /> During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue"<ref name="wordorig" /> or "general issue",<ref name="Rawson" /> began being used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army<ref name="Rawson" /> (e.g. "G.I. soap"<ref name="Rawson" />). Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".<ref name="Rawson" />


The earliest known recorded instances of "G.I." being used to refer to an American [[Enlisted rank|enlisted]] man as a [[slang]] term are from 1935.<ref name="wordorig" /> In the form of "G.I. Joe" it was made better known due to it being taken as the [[G.I. Joe (comics)|title of a comic strip]] by [[Dave Breger]] in ''[[Yank, the Army Weekly]]'', beginning in 1942.<ref name="wordorig" />
The earliest known recorded instances of "G.I." being used to refer to an American [[Enlisted rank|enlisted]] man as a [[slang]] term are from 1935.<ref name="wordorig" /> In the form of "G.I. Joe" it was made better known due to it being taken as the title of a comic strip by [[Dave Breger]] in ''[[Yank, the Army Weekly]]'', beginning in 1942.<ref name="wordorig" /> A 1944 radio drama, {{anchor|They_Call_Me_Joe20191201}}''They Call Me Joe'', reached a much broader audience. It featured a different individual each week, thereby emphasizing that "G.I. Joe" encompassed U.S. soldiers of all ethnicities.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rivas-Rodriguez |first1=Maggie |title=A Soldier's Story: World War II and the Forgotten Battle for the Aleutian Islands |date=11 November 2016 |url=http://www.kut.org/post/soldiers-story-world-war-ii-and-forgotten-battle-aleutian-islands |publisher=[[KUT|KUT (radio station)]] |access-date=29 September 2018}}</ref> ''They Call Me Joe'' reached civilians across the U.S. via the [[NBC Radio Network]] and U.S. soldiers via the [[Armed Forces Radio Network]].


"G.I. Jane" originally referred to a member of the [[Women's Army Corps]] during [[World War II]] but more recently it is used to refer to any female American soldier.<ref name="Rawson" />
"G.I. Jane" originally referred to a member of the [[Women's Army Corps]] during [[World War II]] but more recently it is used to refer to any American woman soldier.<ref name="Rawson" />


In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor, generally an [[Non-commissioned officer|NCO]] responsible for inducting and training recruits.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor, generally an [[Non-commissioned officer|NCO]] responsible for inducting and training recruits.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}
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==See also==
==See also==
* [[Digger (soldier)]] – A similar term used in Australia
* [[Digger (soldier)]] – A similar term used in Australia
* [[Doughboy]]
* [[Dogface (military)]]
* [[Dogface (military)]]
* [[Folk etymology]]
* [[Folk etymology]]
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[[Category:Military terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:Military terminology of the United States]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel killed in World War II| ]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel killed in World War II| ]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II| ]]

Revision as of 19:26, 8 May 2024

This article is about the term for US soldiers. For other uses, see GI.

G.I.s from the 25th Infantry Division in the jungle of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands, during Operation Cartwheel on 13 September 1943

G.I. is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army"[1] It is mostly deeply associated with World War II,[2] but continues to see use.[3]

It was originally an initialism used in U.S. Army paperwork for items made of galvanized iron.[2] The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906[3] or 1907.[2]

During World War I, U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German artillery shells as "G.I. cans".[2][3] During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue"[2] or "general issue",[3] began being used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army[3] (e.g. "G.I. soap"[3]). Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".[3]

The earliest known recorded instances of "G.I." being used to refer to an American enlisted man as a slang term are from 1935.[2] In the form of "G.I. Joe" it was made better known due to it being taken as the title of a comic strip by Dave Breger in Yank, the Army Weekly, beginning in 1942.[2] A 1944 radio drama, They Call Me Joe, reached a much broader audience. It featured a different individual each week, thereby emphasizing that "G.I. Joe" encompassed U.S. soldiers of all ethnicities.[4] They Call Me Joe reached civilians across the U.S. via the NBC Radio Network and U.S. soldiers via the Armed Forces Radio Network.

"G.I. Jane" originally referred to a member of the Women's Army Corps during World War II but more recently it is used to refer to any American woman soldier.[3]

In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor, generally an NCO responsible for inducting and training recruits.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "G.I. Definition from CollinsDictionary.com". Collins Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd and Penguin Random House LLC. 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Wilton, Dave (2 February 2009). "G.I. – Wordorigins.org". Word Origins. Wordorigins.org. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rawson, Hugh (April–May 2006). "Why do we say "G.I."?". American Heritage.
  4. ^ Rivas-Rodriguez, Maggie (11 November 2016). "A Soldier's Story: World War II and the Forgotten Battle for the Aleutian Islands". KUT (radio station). Retrieved 29 September 2018.
Look up GI in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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