gigue

[ zheeg ]

noun

1. Dance. jig ²( def 1 ).
2. Music. a dance movement often forming the conclusion of the classical suite.

gigue

/ ʒiːɡ /

noun

1. a piece of music, usually in six-eight time and often fugal, incorporated into the classical suite
2. a formal couple dance of the 16th and 17th centuries, derived from the jig

Word History and Origins

Origin of gigue¹

1675–85; < French, probably < English jig ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of gigue¹

C17: from French, from Italian giga, literally: a fiddle; see gigot

Example Sentences

They start the show invitingly and remain a pleasure throughout, supplying the requisite sweetness and drive, along with a few unusual touches — like a Baroque gigue.

From New York Times

In the last movement, a gigue, Bach’s unsettled meters can across as downright Stravinsky-an.

From Los Angeles Times

He exploited time signatures and forms; for “Night Music,” he wrote a waltz, two sarabandes, two mazurkas, a polonaise, an étude and a gigue — nearly an entire score written in permutations of triple time.

From New York Times

“I think of the way my friend Martin Hayes” — a renowned fiddler — “might approach a gigue and vary inflections and articulations in a natural way,” Gandelsman said.

From New York Times

And Variation 7, the gigue, is a place where you seem to really loosen up.

From New York Times