jig

¹

[ jig ]

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, jig·ging.

1. to treat, cut, produce, etc., with a jig.

verb (used without object)

, jigged, jig·ging.

1. to use a jig.
2. to fish with a jig.

jig

²

[ jig ]

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, jig·ging.

1. to dance (a jig or any lively dance).
2. to sing or play in the time or rhythm of a jig:

   to jig a tune.

3. to move with a jerky or bobbing motion; jerk up and down or to and fro.

verb (used without object)

, jigged, jig·ging.

1. to dance or play a jig.
2. to move with a quick, jerky motion; hop; bob.

jig

³

[ jig ]

noun

1. (formerly used in communications to represent the letter J. )

jig

⁴

[ jig ]

noun

, Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.

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. Also calledjigger mining a device for separating ore or coal from waste material by agitation in water
6. obsolete.
   a joke or prank

verb

1. to dance (a jig)
2. to jerk or cause to jerk up and down rapidly
3. often foll by up to fit or be fitted in a jig
4. tr to drill or cut (a workpiece) in a jig
5. mining to separate ore or coal from waste material using a jig
6. intr to produce or manufacture a jig
7. slang.
   to play truant from school

Other Words From

• jiglike jiggish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of jig¹

First recorded in 1855–60; probably akin to jig ², in the sense “jerk to and fro”; origin and interrelationship of these words uncertain

Origin of jig²

First recorded in 1550–60; in earliest sense “kind of dance”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Middle French giguer “to frolic, gambol,” possibly from an unattested West Germanic verb

Origin of jig³

First recorded in 1920–25, Americanism; of uncertain origin; jigaboo

Word History and Origins

Origin of jig¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in jig time, Informal. with dispatch; rapidly:

   We sorted the mail in jig time.

2. the jig is up, Slang. it is hopeless; no chance remains:

   When the burglar heard the police siren, he knew the jig was up.

Example Sentences

He shows off a jig, developed in-house, upon which a seat can be mounted and angled so that workers can easily access the sides or underside.

From BBC

Quins drive Toulouse back with a relentless spell, and after Dombrandt nearly stretches to the line, the ball is recycled to Smith, who jigs past a defender to dot down by the posts.

From BBC

I was like, OK, the jig is up.

From Los Angeles Times

Solomon, Kinley recalled, would paddle his canoe to Xwe’chi’eXen to jig for skinny, silvery herring flitting around lush bull kelp and eelgrass forests waving in the deep blue waters.

From Seattle Times

The steady, rhythmic yank, then drop of the rod tip, makes this an active version of fishing called jigging.

From Seattle Times