"tommy" meaning in English

See tommy in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈtɑmi/ [General-American], /ˈtɒmi/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-tommy.ogg Forms: tommies [plural]
Rhymes: -ɒmi Etymology: Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another). Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} tommy (countable and uncountable, plural tommies)
  1. (UK, slang, obsolete) Bread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll. Tags: UK, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-noun-en:bread_or_breadlike_foodstuff Categories (other): British English, English links with manual fragments
  2. (UK, slang, obsolete) The supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance. Tags: UK, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-noun-GB0ypYOj Categories (other): British English
  3. (UK, slang, obsolete) A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs. Wikidata QID: Q5155573 Tags: UK, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-noun-en:Q5155573 Categories (other): British English
  4. A tommy bar. Wikidata QID: Q1975837 Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-noun-en:Q1975837
  5. (slang) Short for Tommy gun. Tags: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, slang, uncountable Alternative form of: Tommy gun
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-noun-YkMbEURX Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 11 13 10 9 44 12 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 11 11 10 2 55 12 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 11 11 10 2 55 12
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: soft tommy Related terms: tommy cooker, tommyknocker, tommy logge, tommyrot, tommy-rot, tommy ruff

Verb

IPA: /ˈtɑmi/ [General-American], /ˈtɒmi/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-au-tommy.ogg Forms: tommies [present, singular, third-person], tommying [participle, present], tommied [participle, past], tommied [past]
Rhymes: -ɒmi Etymology: Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another). Head templates: {{en-verb}} tommy (third-person singular simple present tommies, present participle tommying, simple past and past participle tommied)
  1. (UK, slang, obsolete, transitive) To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money. Tags: UK, obsolete, slang, transitive
    Sense id: en-tommy-en-verb-8l0p3eta Categories (other): British English, Tools Disambiguation of Tools: 7 17 19 17 15 25

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "soft tommy"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tommies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "tommy (countable and uncountable, plural tommies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "tom‧my"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommy cooker"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommyknocker"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommy logge"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommyrot"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommy-rot"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tommy ruff"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: biscuit"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Bread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-noun-en:bread_or_breadlike_foodstuff",
      "links": [
        [
          "Bread",
          "bread"
        ],
        [
          "breadlike",
          "breadlike"
        ],
        [
          "foodstuff",
          "foodstuff"
        ],
        [
          "penny",
          "penny"
        ],
        [
          "roll",
          "roll#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) Bread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:bread or breadlike foodstuff"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-noun-GB0ypYOj",
      "links": [
        [
          "workmen",
          "workman"
        ],
        [
          "daily",
          "daily"
        ],
        [
          "allowance",
          "allowance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) The supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              248,
              253
            ],
            [
              422,
              427
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1842, Commissioners for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children in Mines and Manufactories, “Evidence of the Employment of Children”, in Appendix to the Second Report of the Commissioners: Trades and Manufactures, Reports and Evidence from Sub-Commissioners, Part 2. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty, London: William Clowes and Sons, page 19:",
          "text": "No. 84. April 6. * * * * * *, aged 13: Works at gimlets and centre-bits, &c.; works from six in the morning till seven at night; has worked here about two years; gets 4s. 6d. a week. Works for one of the men; every man pays his own boy; is paid in tommy; the man he works for gives him a note to the office, Mr. Parsons', for the money; Mr. James Parsons gives him the money, and he gives it to the man, who gives him the tommy for the money. It is John Parsons's Tommy-shop; doesn't know if his name is over the door, can't read. The man he works for behaves well to him; does not beat him; likes his work, has nothing to complain of. Went to a day-school about three years ago, but for a very little time. His father could not afford to pay for it; it was only 2d. a week, but they could hardly get bread enough at that time. Never goes to a Sunday-school; his clothes is ript so bad his father's ashamed on him going. Not badly grown; meagre, not unhealthy; dirty, and in rags.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-noun-en:Q5155573",
      "links": [
        [
          "truck",
          "truck"
        ],
        [
          "barter",
          "barter"
        ],
        [
          "exchange",
          "exchange"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q5155573"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q5155573"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A tommy bar."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-noun-en:Q1975837",
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q1975837"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q1975837"
      ]
    },
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "Tommy gun"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "11 13 10 9 44 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 10 2 55 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 11 10 2 55 12",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Short for Tommy gun."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-noun-YkMbEURX",
      "links": [
        [
          "Tommy gun",
          "Tommy gun#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Short for Tommy gun."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "countable",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɑmi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɒmi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tommy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg/En-au-tommy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒmi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tommy"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tommies",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommying",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommied",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "tommy (third-person singular simple present tommies, present participle tommying, simple past and past participle tommied)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "tom‧my"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 17 19 17 15 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Tools",
          "orig": "en:Tools",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money."
      ],
      "id": "en-tommy-en-verb-8l0p3eta",
      "links": [
        [
          "pay",
          "pay"
        ],
        [
          "truck",
          "truck"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete, transitive) To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɑmi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɒmi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tommy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg/En-au-tommy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒmi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tommy"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒmi",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒmi/2 syllables",
    "en:Tools"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "soft tommy"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tommies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "tommy (countable and uncountable, plural tommies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "tom‧my"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "tommy cooker"
    },
    {
      "word": "tommyknocker"
    },
    {
      "word": "tommy logge"
    },
    {
      "word": "tommyrot"
    },
    {
      "word": "tommy-rot"
    },
    {
      "word": "tommy ruff"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English links with manual fragments",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with obsolete senses"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: biscuit"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Bread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Bread",
          "bread"
        ],
        [
          "breadlike",
          "breadlike"
        ],
        [
          "foodstuff",
          "foodstuff"
        ],
        [
          "penny",
          "penny"
        ],
        [
          "roll",
          "roll#Noun"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) Bread or breadlike foodstuff, generally a penny roll."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:bread or breadlike foodstuff"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with obsolete senses"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "workmen",
          "workman"
        ],
        [
          "daily",
          "daily"
        ],
        [
          "allowance",
          "allowance"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) The supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with obsolete senses",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              248,
              253
            ],
            [
              422,
              427
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1842, Commissioners for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children in Mines and Manufactories, “Evidence of the Employment of Children”, in Appendix to the Second Report of the Commissioners: Trades and Manufactures, Reports and Evidence from Sub-Commissioners, Part 2. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty, London: William Clowes and Sons, page 19:",
          "text": "No. 84. April 6. * * * * * *, aged 13: Works at gimlets and centre-bits, &c.; works from six in the morning till seven at night; has worked here about two years; gets 4s. 6d. a week. Works for one of the men; every man pays his own boy; is paid in tommy; the man he works for gives him a note to the office, Mr. Parsons', for the money; Mr. James Parsons gives him the money, and he gives it to the man, who gives him the tommy for the money. It is John Parsons's Tommy-shop; doesn't know if his name is over the door, can't read. The man he works for behaves well to him; does not beat him; likes his work, has nothing to complain of. Went to a day-school about three years ago, but for a very little time. His father could not afford to pay for it; it was only 2d. a week, but they could hardly get bread enough at that time. Never goes to a Sunday-school; his clothes is ript so bad his father's ashamed on him going. Not badly grown; meagre, not unhealthy; dirty, and in rags.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "truck",
          "truck"
        ],
        [
          "barter",
          "barter"
        ],
        [
          "exchange",
          "exchange"
        ],
        [
          "goods",
          "goods"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete) A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money; the scrip by which such exchange occurs."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q5155573"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "countable",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q5155573"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "A tommy bar."
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "en:Q1975837"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "wikidata": [
        "Q1975837"
      ]
    },
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "Tommy gun"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English short forms",
        "English slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Short for Tommy gun."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Tommy gun",
          "Tommy gun#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang) Short for Tommy gun."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "countable",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɑmi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɒmi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tommy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg/En-au-tommy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒmi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tommy"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒmi",
    "Rhymes:English/ɒmi/2 syllables",
    "en:Tools"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Generally agreed to have come from appellativization of Tommy in most senses, but the historical details are apparently largely unknown, including whether such an evolution happened several times (with one sense being independent of another).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tommies",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommying",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommied",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tommied",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "tommy (third-person singular simple present tommies, present participle tommying, simple past and past participle tommied)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "tom‧my"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "English slang",
        "English terms with obsolete senses",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pay",
          "pay"
        ],
        [
          "truck",
          "truck"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, slang, obsolete, transitive) To pay (employees) according to the truck system, with goods instead of money."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "obsolete",
        "slang",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɑmi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɒmi/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tommy.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg/En-au-tommy.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/En-au-tommy.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɒmi"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tommy"
}

Download raw JSONL data for tommy meaning in English (6.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (5ee713e and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.