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jig

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jig

1  [jig] noun, verb, jigged, jig⋅ging.
Use jig in a Sentence
–noun
1. Machinery. a plate, box, or open frame for holding work and for guiding a machine tool to the work, used esp. for locating and spacing drilled holes; fixture.
2. Angling. any of several devices or lures, esp. a hook or gang of hooks weighted with metal and dressed with hair, feathers, etc., for jerking up and down in or drawing through the water to attract fish.
3. Mining. an apparatus for washing coal or separating ore from gangue by shaking and washing.
4. a cloth-dyeing machine in which the material, guided by rollers, is passed at full width through a dye solution in an open vat.
–verb (used with object)
5. to treat, cut, produce, etc., with a jig.
–verb (used without object)
6. to use a jig.
7. to fish with a jig.
Origin:
1855–60; prob. akin to jig 2 , in sense “jerk to and fro”; orig. and interrelationship of this group of words uncert.
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jig

2  [jig] noun, verb, jigged, jig⋅ging, adjective
–noun
1. a rapid, lively, springy, irregular dance for one or more persons, usually in triple meter.
2. a piece of music for or in the rhythm of such a dance.
3. Obsolete. prank; trick.
–verb (used with object)
4. to dance (a jig or any lively dance).
5. to sing or play in the time or rhythm of a jig: to jig a tune.
6. to move with a jerky or bobbing motion; jerk up and down or to and fro.
–verb (used without object)
7. to dance or play a jig.
8. to move with a quick, jerky motion; hop; bob.
—Idioms
9. in jig time, Informal. with dispatch; rapidly: We sorted the mail in jig time.
10. the jig is up, Slang. it is hopeless; no chance remains: When the burglar heard the police siren, he knew the jig was up.
Origin:
1550–60; in earliest sense “kind of dance” perh. < MF giguer to frolic, gambol, prob. < an unattested WGmc verb (cf. gig 1 ); semantic development of other senses unclear

Related forms:
jiglike, jiggish, adjective

jig

3  [jig]
–noun
(formerly used in communications to represent the letter J.)

jig

4  [jig]
–noun Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
a black person.
Origin:
1920–25, Americanism; of uncert. orig.; cf. jigaboo
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To jig
jig 1   (jĭg)   
n.  

    1. Any of various lively dances in triple time.

    2. The music for such a dance. Also called gigue.

  2. A joke or trick. Used chiefly in the phrase The jig is up.

  3. A typically metal fishing lure with one or more hooks, usually deployed with a jiggling motion on or near the bottom.

  4. An apparatus for cleaning or separating crushed ore by agitation in water.

  5. A device for guiding a tool or for holding machine work in place.

v.   jigged, jig·ging, jigs

v.   intr.

  1. To dance or play a jig.

  2. To move or bob up and down jerkily and rapidly.

  3. To operate a jig.

v.   tr.

  1. To bob or jerk (something) up and down or to and fro.

  2. To machine (an object) with the aid of a jig.

  3. To separate or clean (ore) by shaking a jig.


[Origin unknown.]
jig 2   (jĭg)   
n.   Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a Black person.

[Probably shortening of jigaboo.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

jig

folk dance, usually solo, that was popular in Scotland and northern England in the 16th and 17th centuries and in Ireland since the 18th century. It is an improvised dance performed with rapid footwork and a rigid torso.

Learn more about jig with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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