gig

C1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈgɪg/ UK /ɡɪɡ/ See IPA manual

Freq #4599

Meanings

1

noun
A single live performance by a musician or band.

The band played a gig at a small club downtown.
2

noun
A job, especially one that is temporary, freelance, or done on demand.

She picked up a few gigs driving for a delivery app.
3

verb
To perform live as a musician.

They were gigging around the city every weekend.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms gigs

Derived forms gig-goergig-housegig-lampgig-millgigfulgiggergigginggighousegigificationgiglessgiglikegigman

Related forms sheela-na-gig

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

gig mill
a textile mill using rotating wire-covered cylinders to raise fibers on fabric

Noun + noun

Etymology

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).

gig Middle English gigue Old French gikkr Old Norse gigg Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# gig

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈgɪg/
**IPA (UK):** /ɡɪɡ/
**Frequency rank:** 4599

## Meanings
1. A single live performance by a musician or band.
2. A job, especially one that is temporary, freelance, or done on demand.
3. To perform live as a musician.

## Examples
- The band played a gig at a small club downtown.
- She picked up a few gigs driving for a delivery app.
- They were gigging around the city every weekend.

## Derived Forms
- gig-goer
- gig-house
- gig-lamp
- gig-mill
- gigful
- gigger
- gigging
- gighouse
- gigification
- gigless
- giglike
- gigman

## Related Forms
- sheela-na-gig

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: gig
- Root: gigue
- Root: gikkr
- Root: gigg

## Etymology
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).

## AI Etymology
Gig is 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). In present-day use, it can mean a single live performance by a musician or band, or a job, especially one that is temporary, freelance, or done on demand. Derived formations include gig-goer, gig-house, gig-lamp, gig-mill, and gigful.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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gig