[Trombone-l] Origin of the word gig

[Phil Brink]

Gotta love this list! Where else can you find answers to such recondite 
questions as Jackie poses - Bill, you de man!

Phil Brink

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Dinwiddie" <billdin at comcast.net>
To: "List Trombone" <TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 10:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Origin of the word gig


> Hi Jackie,
>
> Found this on a website about word origins:
> Gig is an interesting word with a variety of etymologically unrelated
> senses.
>
> The oldest sense is that of a top or other whirling object. It dates to c.
> 1440. The origin is unknown. The sense of top is the source of some other
> senses, such as a giddy or flighty person, fun, merriment, and a whim.
>
> The sense of a light, two-wheeled carriage dates to 1791. This sense is a
> transference from the earlier sense. The motion of the carriage and its
> tendency to upset are not unlike that of a top. Also related is the sense 
> of
> gig meaning a ship's boat. This nautical sense dates to 1790.
>
> Gig can also mean a spear or harpoon, and it is a verb meaning to spear or
> stab, as in Gig'em Aggies. This sense originally comes from the Spanish 
> word
> for harpoon, fisga. The Spanish word appears in English in 1565 as fisgig.
> An alternate spelling is fizgig and the word is also folk-etymologized as
> fishgig, a harpoon for stabbing fish. The clipped form gig appears in 
> 1722.
>
> This brings us to the most common sense, that of a musician's engagement 
> or
> job. The musical sense dates to 1926 and first arose as jazz slang in the
> US. But the origin is not in music. The use of gig to mean a non-musical 
> job
> or occupation dates to 1908, and the sense of a business affair or event 
> is
> a year older than that. The origin is unknown, but it may come from the
> slang term gag. This dates to 1890 and means business method, practice, or
> behavior. All these sense are American slang usages.
>
> These last senses may be from, or be influenced by, an obsolete sense of
> gig. This sense of gig is a type of bet in a numbers game. It dates to 
> 1847
> and is an arbitrary use of the sense of gig as a carriage (a horse is
> another type of bet).
>
>
>
> Bill Dinwiddie
>
> billdin at comcast.net
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jackie Harris-Stone" <bassboneladymail at yahoo.com>
> To: <trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
> Sent: Monday, May 22, 2006 9:54 PM
> Subject: [Trombone-l] Origin of the word gig
>
>
>>I was asked by a non-musician about the origin of the word "gig", and I 
>>was
>>stumped.  Anyone know?
>
>
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