Link Centre Dictionary

gig

US/ɡɪɡ/ common informal slang uk us

noun

1.
2.
3.

a cluster of hooks (without barbs) that is drawn through a school of fish to hook their bodies; used when fish are not biting

4.

tender that is a light ship''s boat; often for personal use of captain

5.
6.

a booking for musicians

  • “they played a gig in New Jersey”

Origin

The noun is derived from Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge (“spinning object; a top”); further origin uncertain, possibly: * from Old Norse [Term?] (compare Danish gig (“a top”), dialectal Norwegian giga (“to shake about”)), from Proto-Germanic *gīganą (“to move, wish, desire”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeyǵʰ-, *gʰeygʰ- (“to yawn, gape, long for, desire”); or * ultimately onomatopoeic. Senses 2-4 are thought to derive from sense 1 (“whipping-top”), but their exact relationship is unclear. The verb is derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • captain's gig
  • gig bag
  • gig economy
  • Gig Harbor
  • gig house
  • gig work
  • gig worker
  • raising gig
  • side gig

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.