English

Proper noun

Tommy

1. A diminutive of the male given name Thomas.
2. (uncommon relative to the male given name) A diminutive of the female given name Thomasina.

Translations

Noun

Tommy ‎(plural Tommies)

1. (colloquial) Tommy Atkins; a typical private in the British army; a British soldier.
   • 1892, Rudyard Kipling, "Tommy"

     Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"

     But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll

   • 1929, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Chapter 15:

     And every night now he played pontoon, that game of the Tommies, with Mrs Bolton, gambling with sixpences.

   • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, page 129:

     He liked the Germans better than he did the French; but for all that, if he went down the back streets of a night, it was with three or four British Tommies, in case the Jerries weren't as friendly as they made out.

Synonyms

• Tommy Atkins

Danish

Etymology

From English Tommy.

Proper noun

Tommy

1. A male given name.

Norwegian

Etymology

From English Tommy. First recorded as a given name in Norway around 1870.

Proper noun

Tommy

1. A male given name.

References

• Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 9 285 males with the given name Tommy living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

Swedish

Etymology

From English Tommy. First recorded as a given name in Sweden in 1886.

Proper noun

Tommy

1. A male given name.
   • 1945 Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Långstrump, Rabén&Sjögren (1997), ISBN 9129630312, page 8:

     Pojken hette Tommy och flickan Annika. Det var två mycket snälla och väluppfostrade och lydiga barn.

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
• Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 42 964 males with the given name Tommy living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

English

Noun

tommy

1. (Britain, slang, obsolete) bread, generally a penny roll; the supply of food carried by workmen as their daily allowance
2. (Britain, slang, obsolete) A truck, or barter; the exchange of labour for goods instead of money.

Usage notes

• Used adjectively or in compounds: tommy master, tommy-store, tommy-shop, etc.