gig
n. countablen. a job or a performance, especially for a short time. You might use this for a musician's concert or a freelance project you are working on.
n. a single professional engagement or short-term piece of work. Frequently used in the context of musical performances or freelance employment within the modern service economy.
The band has a gig at the local club tonight.
After finishing her graphic design gig for the startup, she began looking for a more permanent role.
The rise of digital platforms has transformed the labor market, allowing workers to move from one short-term gig to another without the traditional security of a long-term contract.
The etymology of the noun is unknown, but compare Old French gigue (“a fiddle”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Sense 1 is a clipping of gigabyte, while sense 2 is a clipping of giga- (prefix multiplying the unit to which it is attached by one billion).
The noun is derived from Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge (“spinning object; a top”); further origin uncertain, possibly: from Old Norse [Term?] (compare Danish gig (“a top”), dialectal Norwegian giga (“to shake about”)), from Proto-Germanic gīganą (“to move, wish, desire”), from Proto-Indo-European gʰeyǵʰ-, gʰeygʰ- (“to yawn, gape, long for, desire”); or * ultimately onomatopoeic. Senses 2–4 are thought to derive from sense 1 (“whipping-top”), but their exact relationship is unclear. The verb is derived from the noun.
From Middle English gig, gigge, gegge, possibly either: * from Old French gigue (“tall, skinny girl”) (modern French gigue), from Old Norse gikkr (“pert person”) (related to Danish gjæk (“fool, jester”), Swedish gäck (“fool, jester; a wag”); see also geck); or * from Middle English gigg, gigge, gygge (“spinning object; a top”) (see etymology 3).
The noun is derived from a clipping of fishgig, fizgig, possibly from Spanish fisga (“harpoon”). The verb is derived from the noun.
Informal in register; commonly used as a modifier in the phrase 'gig economy'.