Jimmy

How to spell jimmy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce jimmy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does jimmy mean?

1. verbTo force something open, especially a door, window, or lock, using a short bar or similar tool.
2. nounA short crowbar, especially one used by a burglar to force entry.

Jimmy in a sentence

• verb

  The intruder managed to jimmy the back window in seconds.

• noun

  Police found a jimmy and a torch hidden in his bag.

• verb

  He had to jimmy the jammed drawer with a flat screwdriver.

• noun

  She kept a small jimmy in the van for stubborn crates.

Where does jimmy come from?

Language of origin: Hebrew

This is one of a small family of English words in which an everyday object took the nickname of a common man's name. Jimmy is a familiar pet form of James, itself descended through Old French from the Latin Iacomus, a late variant of Iacobus, which in turn renders the Hebrew name Yaaqov (Jacob). By the early nineteenth century thieves' slang had borrowed the friendly name and attached it to the short, stout crowbar that burglars used to lever open doors and windows. The British underworld more often spelled and said it as 'jemmy', while 'jimmy' became the dominant form in American usage; both sit alongside other personified tools such as the 'jack' that lifts a car. From the noun came the verb meaning to prise something open, and that practical break-in sense is what keeps the word alive today.

How the word is built

• jimmy (pet form of the personal name James, applied as a tool name)