What does G.I. stand for?

It is possible for an abbreviation to have multiple reverences. A new one can evolve while there is allready another abbreviation for another expression, without the persons starting the new one being aware of the older one.

So I think it is very likely that G.I. came from General Infantry (what I allways thought it meant), even though an older abbreviatons existed.
 
Cicero said:
Wrong on both counts. The Willys/Ford Jeep name was orignally a carton character called "Eugene the Jeep" and "G.I." is Government Issue as others have mentioned.
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Spot on.

We were all GI's; we were not all infantry.
Yep, ex-Army.
 
I think "what does it stand for?" is a separate question from "what does (did) it mean?" or "where did it originate?". People are always looking for deep historical meanings for words and phrases, but these are often tough to distentangle. And even if you manage it, the word may have come to mean something else entirely by the present day, rendering the original meaning of academic interest only.

So if since 1918 GI has stood for "Government Issue", then that's what it (usefully) means. If there's a deeper history then that's certainly interesting. The wordorigins full article is at the least plausible. I must admit that if I'd heard someone claim the "galvanised iron" backstory, I would immediately think "folk etymology" - it so conveniently reduces soldiers to inanimate objects that it could be passed around by civvie and soldier alike, as a criticism of government or of the military, depending upon the intention of the teller.
 
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Hi

The term, "G.I." as a term for private soldier was fairly new in WWII, when the soldiers themselves started calling themselves, "Government Issue."

On of the thing that helped get Patton in trouble was referring to a soldier as, "G.I." and he was called down for it.

When he said, "but, it's what they call themselves," his superior told him that, while the G.I.s could call themselves Government Issue, their commanders could never speak of them in that manner.

As Patton was a pretty fair military historian, if the term were slightly older than that, he'd probably have known about the prohibition on referring to soldiers as Government Issue.
 
jimtron said:
OK, the Internet is giving me conflicting information on this. What does GI (the military, not medical term) stand for? Wikipedia says galvanized iron. Other sources say government issue. I don't have any reliable reference sources for this at the moment. I know that Wikipedia is isn't definitive, but my bet is with them--in my experience it's been a pretty reliable reference source.
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Try this: http://www.answers.com/topic/gi
 
We are obviously dealing with something of government issue that is made of galvanized iron on the outside, but is gooey on the inside, especially in its gastrointestinal region. Just keep all that in mind the next time you sing the theme song. It sure explains a lot.


"Yo Joe!"
He'll fight for freedom wherever there is trouble, G. I. Joe is there!
G. I. Joe (A Real American Hero), G. I. Joe is there

It's G. I. Joe against Cobra the enemy
Fighting to save the day,
He never gives up, he's always there,
Fighting for freedom over land and air

G. I. Joe (A Real American Hero), G. I. Joe is there

"G. I. Joe is the codename for America's daring, highly trained, special mission force. Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world."

He never gives up, he'll stay till the fights won
G. I. Joe will dare
G. I. Joe (A Real American Hero)
G. I. Joe!
 
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Big Les said:
I think "what does it stand for?" is a separate question from "what does (did) it mean?" or "where did it originate?". People are always looking for deep historical meanings for words and phrases, but these are often tough to distentangle. And even if you manage it, the word may have come to mean something else entirely by the present day, rendering the original meaning of academic interest only.

So if since 1918 GI has stood for "Government Issue", then that's what it (usefully) means. If there's a deeper history then that's certainly interesting. The wordorigins full article is at the least plausible. I must admit that if I'd heard someone claim the "galvanised iron" backstory, I would immediately think "folk etymology" - it so conveniently reduces soldiers to inanimate objects that it could be passed around by civvie and soldier alike, as a criticism of government or of the military, depending upon the intention of the teller.
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During WWII, the media used the term G.I. (government issue) in reference to American Army personel in WWII, but the soldiers called each other "dog face."

William Wellam's "The Story of G.I. Joe" (1945) movie forever ensured the meaning of "G.I" was indeed government issue.
 
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Conflicting sources are very common in history. My own gut feeling is that it meant "General Issue', that seems the most logical.
And Wikipedia is not the most reliable source of information out there, precisely because is is the "encylopedia that anybody can edit"...whether "anybody" knows anything about the topic or not.
 
Same with Jeep - it is a contraction of GP or general purpose
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Cicero said:
Wrong on both counts. The Willys/Ford Jeep name was orignally a carton character called "Eugene the Jeep" and "G.I." is Government Issue as others have mentioned.
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While I agree with you as regards the Army, Cicero, in the field of railroading the "General Purpose" etymology is correct. When General Motors' Electro-Motive Division introduced their new 4-axle diesel-electric road switcher in late 1949, they dubbed it the "GP7", for "General Purpose". It took, oh, maybe fifteen minutes for the new locomotives to earn the name of "Jeep".
 
dudalb said:
Conflicting sources are very common in history. My own gut feeling is that it meant "General Issue', that seems the most logical.
And Wikipedia is not the most reliable source of information out there, precisely because is is the "encylopedia that anybody can edit"...whether "anybody" knows anything about the topic or not.
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If you have to use the wiki, or your gut, to determine the meaning of "G.I." then you must be of the internet generation. That could only explain the confusion about the initials representing anything other than government issue. At the time the term "G.I." was getting traction in the lexicon, non-commissioned officers were always instructing their men to only possess in their foot lockers what Uncle Sam (the government) issued them.

Anyone familiar with Bill Mauldin's Willie & Joe G.I. cartoons knows that part of the joke is how these dog faces are the quintessential representation of government issued equipment. If you substitute "general" for "government" it not only negates the point of referring to soldiers as such, but it also defuses the broader context of this affectionate term.
 
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ehbowen said:
While I agree with you as regards the Army, Cicero, in the field of railroading the "General Purpose" etymology is correct. When General Motors' Electro-Motive Division introduced their new 4-axle diesel-electric road switcher in late 1949, they dubbed it the "GP7", for "General Purpose". It took, oh, maybe fifteen minutes for the new locomotives to earn the name of "Jeep".
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It may very well be that anything post WWII with a "GP" designation will be influenced by "Eugene the Jeep".
 
Bell said:
So I think it is very likely that G.I. came from General Infantry (what I allways thought it meant), even though an older abbreviatons existed.
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I've only ever heard it as "Govt. Issue". "General Infantry" is a meaningless
phrase, in any case.
 
Cicero said:
...officers were always instructing their men to only possess in their foot lockers what Uncle Sam (the government) issued them.
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I wonder why they were never called "Uncle Sams", or something similar,
since (I understand that) "US" was stamped on kit, not "GI".
 
From the Wikipedia article linked in the OP:
Quote:

The term is often thought to be an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or "General Infantry" but actually refers to galvanized iron. The letters "G.I." that used to denote equipment such as metal trash cans made from galvanized iron in U.S. Army inventories and supply records.[1][2]
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In the Corps, we referred to the room where trash cans and other cleaning supplies were kept as the "GI shack". Trash duty was also referred to as "GI duty". We never knew why, and nobody bothered asking, but the Corps is very big on tradition and holding onto its own lingo, so it's not a stretch at all to think the GI shack was so named because 80 years ago that's where the GI cans were kept.
 
TX50 said:
I've only ever heard it as "Govt. Issue". "General Infantry" is a meaningless
phrase, in any case.
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It is possible I made that up myself, trying to figure out what G.I. stands for. It was way back in ye olde days before the interwebs :)
 
Cicero said:
If you have to use the wiki, or your gut, to determine the meaning of "G.I." then you must be of the internet generation. That could only explain the confusion about the initials representing anything other than government issue. At the time the term "G.I." was getting traction in the lexicon, non-commissioned officers were always instructing their men to only possess in their foot lockers what Uncle Sam (the government) issued them.

Anyone familiar with Bill Mauldin's Willie & Joe G.I. cartoons knows that part of the joke is how these dog faces are the quintessential representation of government issued equipment. If you substitute "general" for "government" it not only negates the point of referring to soldiers as such, but it also defuses the broader context of this affectionate term.
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Oh, I 100% agree that all the evidence is that GI meant "General Issue".
The real problem with the Internet is people are being flooded with information, much of it bad, and they are not being taught how to sift and evaluate it, and there is a bad tendacy to believe the "coolest" sounding information.
 
dudalb said:
Oh, I 100% agree that all the evidence is that GI meant "General Issue".
The real problem with the Internet is people are being flooded with information, much of it bad, and they are not being taught how to sift and evaluate it, and there is a bad tendacy to believe the "coolest" sounding information.
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True about the net. However, it's not as if it is impossible to get first hand information on this topic. Ask any WWII vet, as rare as they are becoming, and they will confirm that it means "Government Issue.
 
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