Etymology : Middle English -gyge , of unknown origin
Pronunciation : 'gig
Function : noun
Date : 1570
1. coach, two-wheeled carriage pulled by one horse; small boat; light racing boat; spear with a prong; harpoon; set of hooks used for fishing; temporary job; little item that is whirled round in play; live performance by a musician or other performer; musical engagement (Slang); demerit (Slang); roller that contains teasels to raise nap on a fabric. ride in a one-horse carriage; catch an animal with a gig; fish with a gig; (Slang ) give a demerit; play a musical engagement; raise the nap on cloth. (Slang) gigabyte (Computers).
2. to get together.
3. a job. gig\gig\ (j&ibreve;g or g&ibreve;g), n. [cf. of. gigue. see:
jig, n.] a fiddle. [obs.]gig \gig\ (g&ibreve;g), v. t. [prob. fr. l. gignere to beget.] to engender. [obs.]gig \gig\, n. a kind of spear or harpoon. see:
fishgig.gig \gig\, v. t. to fish with a gig.gig \gig\, n. [oe. gigge. cf. giglot.] a playful or wanton girl; a giglot.gig \gig\, n. [cf. icel. gīgja fiddle, mhg. gīge, g. geige, icel. geiga to take a wrong direction, rove at random, and e. jig.].
4. a top or whirligig; any little thing that is whirled round in play. thou disputest like an infant; go, whip thy gig.
5. a light carriage, with one pair of wheels, drawn by one horse; a kind of chaise.
6. (naut.) a long, light rowboat, generally clinkerbuilt, and designed to be fast; a boat appropriated to the use of the commanding officer; as, the captain's gig.
7. (mach.) a rotatory cylinder, covered with wire teeth or teasels, for teaseling woolen cloth.gig machine,.
8. A fiddle.
9. To engender.
10. A kind of spear or harpoon.
11. See Fishgig.
12. To fish with a gig.
13. A playful or wanton girl; a giglot.
14. A top or whirligig; any little thing that is whirled round in play.
15. A light carriage, with one pair of wheels, drawn by one horse; a kind of chaise.
16. A long, light rowboat, generally clinkerbuilt, and designed to be fast; a boat appropriated to the use of the commanding officer; as, the captain's gig.
17. A rotatory cylinder, covered with wire teeth or teasels, for teaseling woolen cloth. a booking for musicians; "they played a gig in New Jersey" small two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage; with two seats and no hood tender that is a light ship's boat; often for personal use of captain long and light rowing boat; especially for racing a cluster of hooks that is drawn through a school of fish to hook their bodies; used when fish are not biting.
18. 1. A gig is a live performance by someone such as a musician or a comedian. The two bands join forces for a gig at the Sheffield Arena on November 28 He supplemented his income with occasional comedy gigs. = show.
19. When musicians or other performers gig, they perform live in public. By the time he was 15, Scott had gigged with a handful of well-known small bands. To give a military demerit to. To work as a musician: "gigging weekends as a piano player in the ski joints" (Joel Oppenheimer). A gigabyte. gigged gigging to give a performance of modern popular music or jazz.