Jimmy
/ˈdʒɪmi/noun
A pry bar or short crowbar used for forcing something open; also a common English given name and informal term for a man.
Did you know?The tool sense of *jimmy* is a later slang word, and its exact origin is uncertain, but it became firmly tied to lock-picking and forced entry in American English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*yeh₁-
“to join or fit together”
Hebrew
Heb
Yaʿaqov
“Jacob; the biblical name later spread through many European forms”
Latin
Lat
Iacomus
“A medieval Latin form of James/Jacob”
Old French
OF
Gemmes / Jacques
“Medieval French forms that helped shape English James-like name forms”
Middle English
Eng
Jame, Jym
“A personal name used in English; later shortened and varied in spelling”
Modern English
Eng
jimmy
“A pry bar; also a familiar male name or nickname”