# gig

Pronunciation: say "GIG" /ɡɪɡ/

## Noun

1. A performing engagement for a musician or group, or by extension a job or role for any performer in film, television, or theater. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A paid job to perform music, act, or put on some other kind of show.
   - _The quartet booked three gigs over the holiday weekend._
   - _Landing a steady gig on the soap opera changed her career._
2. Paid work of any kind, especially a temporary or freelance job or one done on demand. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A job, especially a short one or freelance work done when it is needed.
   - _Many workers juggle several gigs to make ends meet._
   - _She took a short editing gig to cover the rent._
4. An informal shortening of any measurement unit that carries the SI prefix giga-, equal to a billion of the base unit. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A short, informal name for any unit that uses 'giga,' meaning a billion of that unit.
   - _Modern processors run at several gigs, far faster than early models._
   - _Each gig of bandwidth costs extra on that plan._
6. A light, narrow boat, usually rowed but sometimes sailed, used as a ship's boat or for racing.
   - Simple: A long, light, narrow boat moved by oars, used to carry people from a ship or for racing.
   - _The captain's gig pulled alongside the frigate at dusk._
   - _Two gigs were launched to carry messages between the anchored ships._
7. A demerit given for breaking a military rule about dress or conduct. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: A black mark given to a soldier for breaking a rule about dress or behavior.
   - _The cadet earned a gig for failing the morning inspection._
   - _A string of gigs kept her confined to base._
9. A one-horse carriage running on a single pair of wheels.
   - Simple: A light, two-wheeled cart pulled by one horse.
   - _The young curate kept a smart gig for his rounds about the parish._
   - _Two gigs waited outside the inn while their owners dined._
10. A spear with a barbed head, used for catching fish, frogs, or other small animals.
   - Simple: A spear with a sharp, hooked point, used to catch fish, frogs, or other small animals.
   - _The fisherman balanced the gig in one hand, ready to strike at the first flounder._
   - _Barbed gigs hold a thrashing fish far better than smooth points do._

## Verb

3. To perform live as a musician or performer, especially at paid engagements. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To play music or perform live for an audience, usually for pay.
   - _Local musicians gig wherever they can find an audience._
   - _She has been gigging across Europe all summer._
5. To work at jobs that are freelance, temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To work at short or freelance jobs instead of one steady job.
   - _Many graduates gig for years before landing permanent positions._
   - _He has been gigging through several apps since losing his office job._
8. To give someone a demerit for breaking a military rule about dress or conduct. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: To give a soldier a black mark for breaking a dress or behavior rule.
   - _The officer gigged three cadets during the surprise inspection._
   - _Instructors gig recruits for the smallest lapses in appearance._
11. To catch fish, frogs, or other small animals with a barbed spear.
   - Simple: To catch fish or frogs with a spear.
   - _Locals gig flounder in the shallows after dark, using lanterns to spot them._
   - _She gigged three bullfrogs before the moon rose._
12. To make a joke at someone's expense, often condescendingly; to make fun of. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To make fun of someone, often in an unkind or teasing way.
   - _His coworkers gig him constantly about his terrible parking._
   - _They gigged the new recruit until he learned to laugh along._

## Noun

13. Fun or merriment; also, a joke, prank, or passing whim. *(archaic, British)*
   - Simple: An old word for fun, a joke, or a sudden silly idea.
14. A person of odd or outlandish appearance; also, a fool. *(archaic, British)*
   - Simple: Someone who looks strange, or who behaves in a silly way.
15. A spinning top set going by winding a string around it and throwing it so the string unwinds rapidly; a whipping-top. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A spinning top that you start by wrapping string around it and throwing it.
16. A young woman given to frivolity, play, or wantonness; a giglet or giglot. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A silly or flirty young woman who likes to play around.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To ride in a gig, a two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5, 7–8** — No one knows where the noun comes from, though Old French gigue ("a fiddle") is a possible comparison. The verb comes from the noun.
**Meaning 4** — Each sense is a shortened word. Sense 1 cuts down gigabyte, and sense 2 cuts down giga-, the prefix that multiplies a unit by one billion.
**Meanings 6, 9, 12–15** — The noun goes back to Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge, a spinning object or top, but its earlier history is uncertain. It may be from Old Norse (Danish gig, "a top," and dialectal Norwegian giga, "to shake about," are comparable), which would trace it to Proto-Germanic *gīganą ("to wish, desire, move") and the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰeyǵʰ- ("to yawn, gape, long for"). Or it may in the end imitate a sound. The other senses are thought to grow out of the "whipping-top" sense, though how exactly is unclear, and the verb comes from the noun.
**Meaning 16** — Middle English gig, gigge, gegge has two possible sources. One is Old French gigue ("tall, skinny girl"), which came from Old Norse gikkr ("pert person"), a relative of Danish gjæk and Swedish gäck ("fool, jester"). The other is Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge, meaning a top or spinning object.
**Meanings 10–11** — Spanish fisga ("harpoon") may lie behind fishgig or fizgig, and the noun is a shortened form of those words. The verb was made from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/gig (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).