"Gig" the term?

[Thangfish]

I know what it means in common usage, but does anyone have any knowledge or insight as to where the term "gig" came from?

I thought I remembered an apostrophe at the front or end of the word on an old Dark Side of The Moon album, but it's not on my cd that way so I'm probably wrong.

Hehheh... I probably replaced that album 3 or 4 times before cds came out. I'm on my second cd.

Anyway, just curious.

[HomeBrewTJ]

What's the origin of the word "GIG"?

Longtime audio guy Peter Stefan asked about the derivation of the word "gig". He was referring to the definition, "a job usu. for a specified time; esp.: an entertainer’s engagement. (This def courtesy of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary).

The first historical reference for this meaning is documented as occuring in 1926, both in Webster’s and the OED. Both assert that the origin is unknown.

www.phoenix.net/~melanie/et_e-g.htm#carnival is an archive of "Your Etymology Questions", wherein it is suggested, "…gig-a musical performance, likely comes from French gigue ‘a ball or dance’, from Middle French giguer ‘to dance’. Jig (the verb) likely comes from the same source."

Now, no dictionary I checked (six or so) gives the word gig this definition, let alone this derivation, so I place little credence in this source.

Gig is truly a hard-working word. The earliest meaning of gig is Sumerian, in which it means black or dark. If you go back just a few hundred years, it refers to the vagina AND the *******. Later in history, definitions include: something that whirls or is whirled; a 3-digit selection in a numbers game; a person of odd or grotesque appearance; a long light ship; a rowboat designed for speed rather than for work; a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage; a pronged spear for catching fish; a military demerit…and that’s just the nouns!

The etymology for this slew of meanings varies, but the specific meaning about which Peter queried seems to have no identified derivation. Sorry Pete, I guess I blew this gig. No, not THAT kind of gig! What a mind!

http://home.netcom.com/~mrlucky/gig.html

[Munjibunga]

I believe I read somewhere that it started out as slang for "engagement."

[Munjibunga]

Or alternately:

'gig'
--The musician's engagement probably derives immediately from the 'gig' that is a dance or party, but 'gig' and 'gigi' (or 'giggy') also are old slang terms for the vulva; the first has been dated to the seventeenth century.

[a.green.martian]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Or alternately:

'gig'
--The musician's engagement probably derives immediately from the 'gig' that is a dance or party, but 'gig' and 'gigi' (or 'giggy') also are old slang terms for the vulva; the first has been dated to the seventeenth century.

Quagmire's catch phrase makes way more sense now...

[Cloggy]

It's from engagement like the man said.
Any old bio will tell you so.
Bloody youngsters...

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Cloggy

It's from engagement like the man said.
Any old bio will tell you so.
Bloody youngsters...

But there is no obvious "gig" in "engagement", unless it was originally pronounced "gage", and I've never seen anything to support that, not even speculatively. Word-of-mouth history is not the same as "truth"- just look at all the supposedly true back stories behind the word "OK". Nearly every etymological reference on the word gig says "origin uncertain".

[jomahu]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Or alternately:

'gig'
--The musician's engagement probably derives immediately from the 'gig' that is a dance or party, but 'gig' and 'gigi' (or 'giggy') also are old slang terms for the vulva; the first has been dated to the seventeenth century.

i prefer this meaning.

[BassChuck]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

but 'gig' and 'gigi' (or 'giggy') also are old slang terms for the vulva; the first has been dated to the seventeenth century.

Yea, I can think of a lot of gigs I've done that this would apply to. Both positive and negative.

[Ed Fuqua]

If gigue were indeed the root, the pronounciation would be just like the dance i.e. "jig". Most jazz slang comes from two different sources - vaudeville (and Yiddish) or Lester Young. I'd be more likely to investigate the root of the word "gig" as used to denote the activity of getting a frog on a hook i.e. providing sustenance.

Or also "gig" as refers to a specific coach/carriage/horse and buggy rig. With the implication of "what the hell have I got myself hooked up to now?"

[bongomania]

Or if not "what am I hooked up to", perhaps "getting a gig" is like "catching a ride"?