gimp

Forms

gimp f, also gijmp; plural gimpen (in the sense “a trimming”)^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French guimpe (“wimple, veil”), from Old French guimple, wimple, from Frankish *wimpil.^{[2][4][5][3][6]} The Frankish word is the source of Dutch wimpel; compare Old English wimpel (“shoulder cloth”), Old Saxon wimpal, Old High German wimpila and Old Norse vimpill (“head cloth, veil”).^[7][6]

The route of the loan is uncertain: Franck–Van Wijk hold that Dutch, like Low German gimpe and German Gimpf, took the word through English gimp;^[6][8] Van Haeringen doubts that it went through English.^[6][8] De Vries notes that the Dutch word appears early in the 17th century while French ⟨guimpe⟩ is recorded only from 1708, but sees no reason to doubt the French origin;^[2] English ⟨gimp⟩ (from 1664) may on the contrary have come from Dutch, as Bense thought.^[2] The supplement of the WNT dates French ⟨guimpe⟩ to 1564, as an altered form of ⟨guimple⟩ (c. 1140), a veil covering the head, temples and neck.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first recorded in 1625, in a verse that names gimp among the trimmings of a lace handkerchief and of needlework.^[1][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Gimp was a kind of passementerie, a thread wound with coloured silk; used with a plural, gimpen were the trimmings made of it, as on a red skirt “with black gimps” in 1703.^[1] The word is now dated.^[2][9]

French guimpe was borrowed a second time, in the 19th century, as guimpe (1847), a high-necked bodice worn under a low-cut dress, later also a trimming.^[1] Van der Sijs lists English gimp and German Gimpf (also ⟨Gimf⟩), a twisted cord, among the words borrowed from Dutch.^[9]

Timeline

• 1625 – Gimp is first recorded.^[1][5][4]
• 1664 – English gimp is first recorded.^[2]
• 1703 – The plural gimpen is used of trimmings made of gimp.^[1]
• 1847 – The later loan guimpe is first recorded.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) gimp: a kind of passementerie, thread wound round with coloured silk.^[1][9][2]
2. (dated) A trimming or edging made of gimp.^[1][2][4]

Related words

• wimpel
• guimpe
• English gimp

Usage notes

In East Flemish dialect gimp is the neck covering of a nun's habit, and West Flemish gimpe means bands, the collar of a cleric's dress.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Vries, Matthias de; Winkel, L. A. te, et al. (1882–1998), Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal, 29 vols., 's-Gravenhage / Leiden: Nijhoff / Sijthoff / SDU; supplement 2001; gtb.ivdnt.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Vries, Jan de (1971), Nederlands etymologisch woordenboek, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b Vercoullie, Jozef (1925), Beknopt etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 3rd ed., 's-Gravenhage / Gent: Nijhoff / Van Rysselberghe & Rombaut
4. ^ a b c d Vries, Jan de; Tollenaere, Félicien de (2004), Etymologisch woordenboek: onze woorden, hun oorsprong en ontwikkeling, 23rd ed., Utrecht: Het Spectrum, p. 143
5. ^ a b c Veen, P. A. F. van; Sijs, Nicoline van der (1997), Etymologisch woordenboek: de herkomst van onze woorden, 2nd ed., Utrecht / Antwerpen: Van Dale Lexicografie
6. ^ a b c d Franck, Johannes; Wijk, Nicolaas van (1912), Franck's Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, 2nd ed., 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
7. ^ a b Debrabandere, Frans (2005), Oost-Vlaams en Zeeuws-Vlaams etymologisch woordenboek, Amsterdam / Antwerpen: Atlas
8. ^ a b Haeringen, C. B. van (1936), Etymologisch woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal: Supplement, 's-Gravenhage: Nijhoff
9. ^ a b c Sijs, Nicoline van der (2010), Nederlandse woorden wereldwijd, Den Haag: Sdu; with additions from the Uitleenwoordenbank (2015)