Jimp

adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A notch on the spine of a knife blade to increase grip, usually in sets of three or more (jimping).
  2. 2
    Such a notch elsewhere on the knife (handle scales, liner lock, choil) for the same purpose (grippiness).
Adjective
  1. 1
    neat; trim; delicate Northern-England, Scotland, dated

    "Do I look so terrible old, Gilian, that you cannot think of me as not so bad-looking either, with a bonny eye, they said, and a jimp waist, and a foot like the honey-bee?"

  2. 2
    scant; barely sufficient. Northern-England, Scotland, dated

Synonyms

All synonyms
eleganthandsomeslenderspruce

Example

More examples

"Do I look so terrible old, Gilian, that you cannot think of me as not so bad-looking either, with a bonny eye, they said, and a jimp waist, and a foot like the honey-bee?"

Etymology

Of unknown origin.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.