I. ˈjig noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from Middle French giguer to dance, jig, gambol about, frolic, from gigue fiddle, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German gīga fiddle; akin to Old Norse geiga to turn aside — more at gig
1.
a. : any of several lively springy dances in triple rhythm, popular in 16th and 17th century England and Scotland and still commonly danced in Ireland in a way characterized by intricate and dexterous motions of the feet
b. : music to which a jig may be danced
c. : gigue 3
d. : a rapid usually jerky up-and-down or to-and-fro motion
the jig of popcorn in a popper
2. obsolete
a. : a lively usually jesting or mocking song
b. : a lively or comic act used at the end of a play or as an interlude
3. : trick , stratagem , game — now used chiefly in the phrase the jig is up
4.
a. : any of several fishing devices (as a spoon hook) that are jerked up and down or drawn through the water — compare squid
b. : a device used to maintain mechanically the correct positional relationship between a piece of work and the tool working on it or between parts of work during their assembly
c. : a device in which crushed ore is concentrated or coal is cleaned in water by a rapid reciprocating vertical motion imparted to the substance either by mechanical means or by a pulsating water column
d. : a machine for dyeing piece goods by passing them at full width through the dye liquor by means of rollers
5. also jigg “ : negro — often taken to be offensive
•
- in jig time
II. verb
( jigged ; jigged ; jigging ; jigs )
Etymology: probably from Middle French giguer
transitive verb
1. : to dance in the rapid and lively manner of a jig
jig a morris
2.
a. : to give a rapid jerky up-and-down or to-and-fro motion to
jigged his feet — Michael McLaverty
a handful of coins that he rattled by jigging his thumb along the table — Saul Bellow
: cause to jib
grabbed a girl and started to jig her around the yard — C.T.Jackson
b. : to separate (as ore from gangue or coal from slate) by a rapid up-and-down motion usually in water
3. : to catch (a fish) with a jig or by jerking a hook into the body
4. : to drill (as a well) with a spring pole
5. : to machine, form, or set in place gy means of a jig-controlled tool operation
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to dance a jig : execute a lively dance or dance step
b. : to more with a jigging motion or with rapid usually jerky motions up and down or to and fro
jigged furiously up and down to limber his leg muscles — A.J.Liebling
2. : to fish with a jig
several men in canoes jigging for cod — N.C.McDonald
3. : to work with the aid of a jig
III.
— a communications code word for the letter j