Counting both noun and verb forms, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) lists and defines thirteen separate âgigsâ.
âA flighty, giddy girlâ was where it all started and then âspinâ, âwhirlâ, âwhirligigâ, âfoolâ, giggle and âjokeâ are all in one way or associated with the word. Even when you get up to the 18th century where it meant âlight one-horse carriageâ, its origin might be ..
perhaps based on the âbouncing, whirlingâ sense of the earlier âgigâ.
Until recently, most of us would primarily have associated âgigâ with the music industry and even today young struggling bands are delighted (initially) to get their âfirst gigâ. In this sense, we have two possible origins;
- âa gambling betâ (possibly from the use of a spinning wheel in some original âgigâ game), which then was generalized to mean âa business undertakingâ and then applied to a musical performance.
- the musical engagement sense to the original âspinningâ meaning of the word, perhaps influenced by the Old French âgigueâ, meaning âdanceâ. which also gave us âjigâ.
The word in this context dates back to 1926 ... and this makes for a good little read if you want a more thorough and entertaining overview of the myriad meanings and learn where some of this research came from.
But when did the gig we know today come from?
That dates just back to 2009. And to me it continues to honor the light, flighty, gaming/gambling origins of the word. So let\'s stop using it and call it what it is. Exploitation? Slavery? After all they shoot horses, don't they?