Etymologically
Log in

shimmy

Etymology and origin of the English word shimmy

History Permalink

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈʃɪ.mi/[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2][3] It is usually explained as an American dialect alteration of chemise (recorded from 1837),[4][3][5][6][7] taken as a plural, as in the phrase shake the shimmy,[3][7] though Barnhart thinks it more likely built on shimmer.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A chemise, in dialect and American use (1837).[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

As the name of a ragtime or jazz dance with much shaking of the body the word is recorded from 1917–18,[6][2][3] at first in shimmy shake and shaking the shimmy.[2][5] The dance caused a stir in 1919 when Gilda Gray performed it on Broadway.[3] The verb, to dance the shimmy, is from 1919,[2][6][5] and from 1925 both noun and verb were used of an abnormal vibration, as of a car's wheels.[2][3][6]

Timeline

  • 1837 – a chemise.[5][6]
  • 1917 – a shaking dance.[6]
  • 1919 – verb, to dance the shimmy.[2][6][5]
  • 1925 – a wobble or vibration; to vibrate.[2][3][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An abnormal vibration or wobbling, as of the front wheels of a car.
  2. A dance popular in the 1920s, marked by rapid shaking of the body from the shoulders down.
  3. (dialect) A chemise.

Verb

  1. To vibrate or wobble abnormally.
  2. To shake the body as in dancing the shimmy.
  3. To climb or move by small sideways movements; to shinny.
  • chemise
  • shimmer
  • shinny

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
Cite this entry

“Shimmy.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/shimmy. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·