also GI, 1936 as an adjective meaning "U.S. Army equipment," American English, apparently an abbreviation of Government Issue, and applied to anything associated with servicemen. Transferred sense of "U.S. Army soldier" arose during World War II (first recorded 1943), apparently from the jocular notion that the men themselves were manufactured by the government.
An earlier G.I. (1908) was an abbreviation of galvanized iron, especially in G.I. can, a type of metal trash can; the term was picked up by U.S. soldiers in World War I as slang for a similar-looking type of German artillery shells. But it is highly unlikely that this G.I. came to mean "soldier." No two sources seem to agree on the entire etymology, but none backs the widespread notion that it stands for *General Infantry. GI Joe "any U.S. soldier" attested from 1942 (date in OED is a typo).
GI abbr.
gastrointestinal
Gingival Index
Of, in, or from the US armed forces, esp the Army; government issue: GI shoes/ His officious ways are very GI (WWI armed forces)
nounA member of the US armed forces, esp an enlisted Army soldier serving since or during World War II: The GIs fought furiously to hold Taejon (Armed forces)
verbTo scrub and make trim: They GIed the barracks every Friday night (WWII Army)
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The country code for Gibraltar.
(1999-01-27)
in measurement, unit of volume in the British Imperial and United States Customary systems. It is used almost exclusively for the measurement of liquids. Although its capacity has varied with time and location, in the United States it is defined as half a cup, or four U.S. fluid ounces, which equals 7.219 cubic inches, or 118.29 cubic cm; in Great Britain the gill is five British fluid ounces, which equals 8.669 cubic inches, one-fourth pint, or 142.07 cubic cm.