Tommies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A colloquial term used to refer to British soldiers, especially during World War I
2. It also denotes male individuals in a casual or familiar context
3. A slang expression for soldiers, particularly British troops from the First World War

Etymology: Here "tommies" is the plural of "tommy", a word that began as the familiar name Tommy, a diminutive of Thomas, and came to stand for an ordinary British soldier. Its exact path from a personal name to a common noun is largely unknown, and it may have happened more than once, with different senses arising separately. What is clear is that the name was turned into a general label for a man in uniform, which is why the plural now refers to soldiers as a body.