Jimp
adjective
- Having a slender or scant appearance (often seen as conveying gracefulness)
- Possessing a meager amount or lacking something
adverb
- Describing a state or action that displays, or is done in, an orderly or decisive manner
verb
- To dint or indent something
noun
- Jimps: A women's bodice, specifically made for nursing (obs.)
- A small section of material (e.g. leather) used to mend or improve the quality of something
Usage
For most readers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the favorite characters are the little Hobbits of the Shire. All of the heart and courage wrapped up in the jimp Samwise Gamgee makes him, as well as his friends, impossible not to love. In fact, some might say that the Hobbits have the most personality out of all of their companions, including the humans that are twice their size! There's definitely something to be said about jimpness: sometimes the most valuable packages are the smallest.
The adjective jimp,or gimp, found within the British and Scottish dialects of English, usually describes someone or something that is slight or scarce. Depending on the context of usage, jimp can possess a positive or negative connotation. Concerning thinness, a grandmother may find her young granddaughter's appearance quite jimp and lanky compared to her growing peers. However, although Granny probably sees the girl as sickly or willowy, jimp can just as easily conjure the image of a delicate young maiden. This second connotation brings to mind gracefulness, which can be applied to a pretty little girl or a handsome young man. For example, the concierge of a swanky hotel might be wearing jimp attire that accents his trim figure. People aren't the only ones who could be jimp: elegant portraits or the detailed handiwork of an expert seamstress can also be described as jimp.
As an adverb, jimp can denote an action that is completed precisely or neatly. For this reason, jimp may be used to speak about something that is done in an expert or aesthetically pleasing fashion. Your uncle Alastair might play the bagpipes jimp without one note out of place (which would be quite a feat). Or, a nimble horse could be said to gallop jimp and steadily down the rocky path to East Cambridgeshire. Although being one of the few adverbs without an -ly or -like ending makes this form a bit more difficult to differentiate, its concision does well to carry the idea of tidiness.
Scots and Brits can also be heard saying things like, "Be careful not to jimp your car," when warning a new driver about the dangers of the road. The verb, to jimp, is not very commonly spoken or heard, but when you do happen to hear it in this context it means "to dent" or "to nick" something, like the automobile in the previous example. Jimping something is often not a big deal; a little notch in your kitchen table usually isn't even noticed by hungry dinner guests. Want to know a fun fact about this verb? Our modern word to jump used to be written and spoken as jimp by early Scottish speakers!
Moving into even more archaic territory, the noun jimps was once a word for a type of bodice, specifically one made for nursing that could easily open up in the front instead of being laced in the back. A jimp can also mean a small piece of material like a strip of leather that is added to the outside of a boot. Concerning her jimps, your mother might even ask you to pick up another jimp of thread to mend a seam.
Example: The closet was jimp after she sold most of her old, ratty clothes.
Example: We were astonished by how jimp little Elsa wrote her name.
Example: It probably took centuries to jimp one of the steps in Edinburgh Castle.
Example: Can you pick up a quick jimp of fabric for my torn pants?
Origin
Jimp comes to us from the Scottish language and is still heard, although uncommonly, in the Scottish and British dialects of English. Some sources say the adjective form was first used in the early 16th century.
Derivative Words
Jimps: Used when referring to more than one jimp (noun), or, specifically, a nursing bodice. This form can also function as the third-person present tense of the verb to jimp (see verb form of jimp).
Example: The farmer needed two jimps of burlap to fill a crack in the wall.
Example: His mother now brings band-aids to the park because the little boy jimps his knees whenever he jumps from the swings.
Jimped: This form of the verb denotes the past tense of the verb, or action, to jimp.
Example: The rambunctious schnauzer accidently jimped the door with his nails.
Jimping: This present progressive form of the verb signifies a current or ongoing instance of the verb jimp. In specific context of knives, jimping is used as a noun. Jimpings refer to the notches cut in the back of the knife to prevent sliding while using the knife.
Example: The flies were so large I thought they were jimping my car as I drove into them!
Jimply: This adverb is used to describe an action that is performed nimbly or accurately (see also adverb form of jimp)
Example: The schoolboy jimply answered the question that his teacher asked.
Jimpness: This noun refers to the quality of inadequacy or minuteness.
Example: The apparent jimpness of the field was representative of the yearlong drought.
In Literature
From Gilbert and Sullivan's opera The Gondoliers:
DON AL: So this is the little lady who is so unexpectedly called upon to assume the functions of Royalty! And a very nice little lady, too!
DUKE: Jimp, isn't she?
DON AL: Distinctly jimp. Allow me! (Offers his hand. She turns away scornfully.) Naughty temper!
Here, jimp is used to describe the slender and elegant lady, who also happens to have a little temper.
Mnemonic
- The skimpy imp was jimp.
- Skimp on carbs to be jimp.
Tags
Scottish
Bring out the linguist in you! What is your own interpretation of jimp. Did you use jimp in a game? Provide an example sentence or a literary quote.