jig1

[jig] /dʒɪg/
noun
1.
Machinery. a plate, box, or open frame for holding work and for guiding a machine tool to the work, used especially for locating and spacing drilled holes; fixture.
2.
Angling. any of several devices or lures, especially 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), jigged, jigging.
5.
to treat, cut, produce, etc., with a jig.
verb (used without object), jigged, jigging.
6.
to use a jig.
7.
to fish with a jig.
Origin
1855-60; probably akin to jig2, in sense “jerk to and fro”; orig. and interrelationship of this group of words uncertain

jig2

[jig] /dʒɪg/
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), jigged, jigging.
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), jigged, jigging.
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” perhaps < Middle French giguer to frolic, gambol, probably < an unattested WGmc verb (cf. gig1); semantic development of other senses unclear
Related forms
jiglike, jiggish, adjective

jig3

[jig] /dʒɪg/
noun
1.
(formerly used in communications to represent the letter J.)

jig4

[jig] /dʒɪg/
noun, Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
1.
a contemptuous term used to refer to a black person.
Origin
1920-25, Americanism; of uncertain origin; cf. jigaboo
British Dictionary definitions for jig

jig

/dʒɪɡ/
noun
1.
any of several old rustic kicking and leaping dances
2.
a piece of music composed for or in the rhythm of this dance, usually in six-eight time
3.
a mechanical device designed to hold and locate a component during machining and to guide the cutting tool
4.
(angling) any of various spinning lures that wobble when drawn through the water
5.
(mining) Also called jigger. a device for separating ore or coal from waste material by agitation in water
6.
(obsolete) a joke or prank
verb jigs, jigging, jigged
7.
to dance (a jig)
8.
to jerk or cause to jerk up and down rapidly
9.
(often foll by up) to fit or be fitted in a jig
10.
(transitive) to drill or cut (a workpiece) in a jig
11.
(mining) to separate ore or coal from waste material using a jig
12.
(intransitive) to produce or manufacture a jig
13.
(Austral, slang) to play truant from school
Word Origin
C16 (originally: a dance or the music for it; applied to various modern devices because of the verbal sense: to jerk up and down rapidly): of unknown origin
Word Origin and History for jig
n.

"lively dance," 1560s, perhaps related to Middle French giguer "to dance," or to the source of German Geige "violin." Meaning "piece of sport, trick" is 1590s, now mainly in phrase the jig is up (first attested 1777 as the jig is over). As a verb from 1580s.

Slang definitions & phrases for jig

jig

noun
  1. A dancing party or public dance
  2. jigaboo (1923+)

Encyclopedia Article for 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.

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