gimp

gimp¹ trimming cord

Etymology

The word for the trimming cord is perhaps borrowed from Dutch gimp,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} itself of unknown origin.^[4][5][6][7] Etymonline and Klein derive it instead from French guimpe, from Old French guimple (“wimple, headdress, veil”),^[8][9] which Klein takes from Old High German wimpal and Etymonline from Frankish *wimpil- or another Germanic source; this is also the source of wimple.^[9][8] Skeat thought it was named from a resemblance to a kind of wimple,^[10] and the American Heritage Dictionary also allows the French source.^[11] Barnhart notes that the French word meant a wimple or neckerchief, while guipure is closer in meaning but not in form;^[3] Weekley thought the Dutch word came from the French one, with the sense of guipure.^[12] Johnson connected it with an old English gimp, "neat, spruce".^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

A twist of silk, worsted or cotton with a cord or wire running through it, used mainly as a trimming: 1664.^[14][2][3] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s and Dictionary.com to 1655–65.^[8][15]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as "a kind of silk twist or lace".^[13] The material was used to trim dresses and furniture,^[8][14] From 1827 the word also named a fishing line of silk or the like bound with wire to strengthen it,^[14][5] and after 1839, in lace-making, the coarser thread that outlines the design.^[14][2] The verb, to trim with gimp, is recorded from 1755, in Scott's edition of Bailey's dictionary; it later meant to twist wire into a plait of softer material (1885) and to give a ribbed or corrugated surface to something (1902).^[16] The OED and the Shorter Oxford also record a rare noun gimp for a neckerchief worn by a nun, from 1747, which the Shorter Oxford takes from the French word for a wimple.^[14][5]

Timeline

• 1664 – a twist of silk, worsted or cotton with a cord or wire through it, used as trimming.^[14][2][3]
• 1755 – verb, to trim with gimp.^[16]
• 1827 – a fishing line bound with wire.^[14]
• 1839 – in lace-making, the thread that outlines the design.^[14]
• 1885 – verb, to twist wire into a plait of softer material.^[16]
• 1902 – verb, to give a ribbed surface to.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. A narrow flat braid or round cord, often with a wire or coarse cord running through it, used to trim clothes and upholstery.^{[17][2][6][18]}
2. A thread for embroidery or knitting, made by twisting a heavy thread round a core thread.^[2]
3. In lace, the coarser thread that outlines the design.^[2][14][5]
4. A silk fishing line strengthened with wire.^[2][14][5]

Verb

1. To trim or make with gimp.^[2][16][5]

gimp² lame person, limp

Etymology

The word for a lame person or a limp is of unknown origin.^{[2][6][15][11]} The revised OED suggests that it is shortened from gimpy, recorded a year earlier, which may in turn be a variant or alteration of gammy, perhaps influenced by limp.^[16] The Shorter Oxford and Etymonline also suggest an alteration of that adjective, and Green's Dictionary of Slang queries it,^[5][8][19] while Barnhart and Etymonline suggest association with the verb to limp.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person with a physical disability, especially one affecting the legs or gait: 1886, in the New York Independent.^[16] Etymonline and Green's Dictionary of Slang date it to 1894, when it was a nickname,^[8][19] and Barnhart to 1925, for a lame leg.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word began in American English,^[3][5] where Green's Dictionary of Slang finds it as a nickname for crippled men and beggars from 1894.^[19] It also meant a limp (1890) and a lame leg (1925);^[16][3] since 1893 it has also been used as an adjective of an impaired limb.^[16] The verb, to limp or hobble, is recorded from 1932 in the revised OED;^[16] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives about 1931,^[2] while the 1989 edition of the OED knew it only from Webster's dictionary of 1961.^[14] Barnhart finds the extended sense of a clumsy person about 1952.^[3] Etymonline also counts here the sense "a fool, a stupid person", recorded from 1924,^[8] but the OED treats that as a separate word, perhaps from German Gimpel (“bullfinch; simpleton”), and the Shorter Oxford likewise suggests the German word.^[16][5] From it the OED derives the sense of a submissive partner in sadomasochistic sex, first recorded in the script of Pulp Fiction (1993),^[16] a film whose character The Gimp, Etymonline notes, is dressed in a full-body leather suit.^[8]

Timeline

• 1886 – a person with a physical disability, especially one who limps.^[16] Etymonline dates it to 1894.^[8]
• 1890 – a limp, an uneven gait.^[16]
• 1893 – adjective, of a limb, impaired so that it moves with difficulty.^[16]
• 1924 – a stupid or contemptible person.^[16][8]
• 1925 – a lame leg.^[16][3][2]
• 1932 – verb, to limp.^[16] Merriam-Webster Unabridged gives about 1931.^[2]
• 1993 – a submissive partner in sadomasochistic sex.^[16]

Meanings

Noun

1. (offensive) A person with a physical disability, especially one who limps.^{[6][2][16][17]}
2. A limp or limping walk: He walked with a slight gimp after the fall.^[17][2][16]
3. (offensive) A stupid, inept or contemptible person.^[16][5]
4. A person who takes a submissive role in sadomasochism, typically dressed in a leather or rubber bodysuit with a mask.^[6][16]

Verb

1. To limp or hobble.^{[17][2][5][16]}

Adjective

1. Of a limb: lame or impaired.^[16][19]

Word family

• gimpy