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.

---

Gi ² American  

1. gilbert; gilberts.

---

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.

---

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.

---

G.I. ⁵ American  

Also g.i.

abbreviation

1. galvanized iron.

2. gastrointestinal.

3. general issue.

4. government issue.

---

GI ¹ British  

noun

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

---

adjective

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

GI ² British  

abbreviation

1. gastrointestinal

2. glycaemic index

---

Gi ³ British  

abbreviation

1. gilbert

---

gi ⁴ British  

/ ɡiː /

noun

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

   a karate gi

---

gi ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. Gibraltar

---

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

Photos from the event show Hardy donning a blue gi, wearing a blue belt, the second adult rank in jiu-jitsu, which often requires hundreds of hours of training to achieve.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2022

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

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2022

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

Mr. Morera likes the subversive idea of taking a uniform made specifically for one activity — a gi for martial arts — and adapting it to another.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2020

“Ugwuanyi,” she said, “you have to come home. Oga gi kwanu? Where is your master?”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie