gig

Etymology 1

The etymology of the noun is unknown, but compare Old French gigue (“a fiddle”). The verb is derived from the noun.

noun

1. Originally (music), a performing engagement by a musician or musical group; (by extension, film, television, theater) a job or role for a performer.
   I caught one of the Rolling Stones’ first gigs in Richmond.
   Hey, when are we gonna get that hotel gig again?
2. (by extension) Any job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis.
   I had this gig as a file clerk but it wasn’t my style so I left.
   That guy’s got a great gig over at the bike shop. He hardly works all day.
   Whether you want to have some occasional translation gigs or turn freelance translating into your fulltime occupation, you'll need to know some essential things […] 24 July 2014, R. Z. Aklat, “Introduction”, in Become a Freelance Translator, S.l.]: R. Z. Aklat
   In recent decades, "gig" has become just a hip term for any temporary job or stint, with the implication you're not particularly invested in it. I think of the barista or bookstore clerk who responds to my questions with a look that says, "Hey, man, it's a gig. I don't really DO this?" That tone of insouciance has made "the gig economy" the predominant name for what's being touted as the industrial revolution of our times. 11 January 2016, Geoffrey Nunberg, “Fresh Air: Goodbye Jobs, Hello ‘Gigs’: How One Word Sums Up a New Economic Reality”, in NPR, archived from the original on 2022-02-13
3. (US, military">military) A demerit received for some infraction of a military">military deportment or dress code.
   I received gigs for having buttons of my uniform undone.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. (music) To play (a musical instrument) at a gig.
   2. (US, military">military) To impose a demerit (on someone) for an infraction of a military">military deportment or dress code.
      His sergeant gigged him for an unmade bunk.
2. (intransitive)
   1. (film, music, television, theater) To engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc.
      The Rolling Stones were gigging around Richmond at the time.
   2. (by extension) To work at any job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis.

Etymology 2

Sense 1 is a clipping of gigabyte, while sense 2 is a clipping of giga- (prefix multiplying the unit to which it is attached by one billion).

noun

1. (informal, computing) Clipping of gigabyte (“one billion (1,000,000,000) bytes”).
   This picture is almost a gig; don’t you want to resize it?
   My new computer has over 500 gigs of hard drive space.
   The restore would get through between 13 and 20 gigs of data, and then the tape would fail. 2003, IT Professional's Guide to E-mail Administration, CNET Networks Inc., page 88
2. (slang, chiefly sciences) Any unit of measurement having the SI prefix giga-.

Etymology 3

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.

noun

1. (obsolete) A top which is made to spin by tying a piece of string around it and then throwing it so that the string unwinds rapidly; a whipping-top.
2. (chiefly Britain, school slang (Eton College), archaic or dialectal) A person with an odd appearance; also, a foolish person.
3. Senses relating to enjoyment.
   1. (slang, archaic or Britain, dialectal) Fun; frolics.
      Such was his toil, when one night coming home, / Such swell uncivil, who'd been out to roam / In search of lark, or some delicious gig / The mind delights in, when 'tis in prime twig, 1820, Richard Ranger, “Randall; a Fragment. With Notes”, in Jack Randall’s Diary of Proceedings at the House of Call for Genius.[…], London: […] [J. Brettell] for W[illiam] Simpkin and R[ichard] Marshall,[…], →OCLC, page 62
   2. (obsolete) A fanciful impulse; a whim; also, a joke.
4. Senses relating to vehicles.
   1. (nautical)
      1. A small, narrow, open boat carried in a larger ship, and used for transportation between the ship and the shore, another vessel, etc.
         The captain's gig still lies before ye whole and sound, / It shall carry all o' we. 1979, Stan Rogers (lyrics and music), “The Flowers of Bermuda” (track 6), in Between the Breaks … Live!, Dundas, Ont.: Fogarty’s Cove Music
      2. (Southern England, by extension) A similar rowing boat or sailboat, especially one used for racing; specifically, a six-oared sea rowing boat commonly found in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
   2. (road transport, historical) A two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse.
      [T]he room grew stifling warm and vapor clung to the windowpanes, blurring the throng of people still milling outside the courthouse, a row of tethered gigs and buggies, distant pine trees in a scrawny, ragged grove. 1967, William Styron, “Judgment Day”, in The Confessions of Nat Turner, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →OCLC, page 77

verb

1. (transitive) To make a joke, often condescendingly, at the expense of (someone); to make fun of.
   His older cousin was just gigging him about being in love with that girl from school.
2. (intransitive) Sometimes followed by it: to ride in a gig (“a two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse”).

Etymology 4

From Middle English gig, gigge, gegge, possibly either: * from Old French gigue (“tall, skinny girl”) (modern French gigue), from Old Norse gikkr (“pert person”) (related to Danish gjæk (“fool, jester”), Swedish gäck (“fool, jester; a wag”); see also geck); or * from Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge (“spinning object; a top”) (see etymology 3).

noun

1. (obsolete) A frivolous, playful, or wanton young woman; a giglet or giglot.

Etymology 5

The noun is derived from a clipping of fishgig, fizgig, possibly from Spanish fisga (“harpoon”). The verb is derived from the noun.

noun

1. (fishing) Synonym of fishgig or fizgig (“a spear with a barb on the end of it, used for catching fish, frogs, or other small animals”).

verb

1. (transitive) To spear (fish, etc.) with a gig or fizgig.
2. (intransitive) To catch or fish with a gig or fizgig.