On Thursday, June 15, 2006 4:36 PM Rafael Copquin wrote: >I'm curious as to the meaning of the word 'gig', very often used in this forum.
>From http://www.word-detective.com/back-n.html: A Groovy Gig Dear Evan: Where does the word "gig," meaning a musician's engagement, come from? -- John Guthrie, New York City. One of the funny things about slang is that while many terms last but a summer's day, figuratively speaking, others just seem to go on and on. "Groovy," for instance, has had at least three incarnations. First heard as a jazz musicians' term of approval in the 1950's, "groovy" later became perhaps the most widely known, and parodied, exclamation of the hippie era, but fell into disuse after about 1970. Now it seems that "groovy" has surfaced again in the lingo of youth, which is good news for those of us who forgot to stop saying it in 1970. "Gig," on the other hand, has remained in fairly constant use since it first appeared in its slang sense among jazz musicians in the mid-1920's. Meaning, as you say, a musician's "date" or engagement to play, "gig" is actually both a noun and a verb, though it's more common to hear a musician speak of "playing a gig" than "gigging." Though a "steady gig" is prized in the notoriously unpredictable life of a musician, the word itself carries overtones of the short-term "one-night stand." Reflecting its roots in jazz, "gig" is almost exclusively used by jazz, pop or rock musicians -- cellists play recitals or engagements, not "gigs." Most dictionaries say that the origin of "gig" in this sense is unknown, but it really doesn't seem that great a mystery. Appearing in English in the 15th century, "gig" meant something that spins, as in "whirligig." Subsequent meanings included "joke," "merriment" and (aha!) "dance." Since playing at parties and dances is every musician's meal ticket early in their career, it's easy to see how "gig" became generalized to mean any paying job. David L. Crooks _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
