GI

Definition	:	Government Issue/General Issue
Category	:	Governmental » Military
Country/Region	:	United States
Popularity	:

What does GI mean?

G.I. is a term used to describe a member of the United States armed forces or an item of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of “Government Issue” or “General Issue”, but it originally stood for “Galvanized Iron”. The term GI was initially used to denote equipment made from “Galvanized Iron”, such as metal trash cans and buckets, in the United States army inventories and supply records. Later, the definition of GI broadened and during World War it was used to refer to the army personnel themselves and all things army-related.