Why is a gig called a gig?

No, seriously. No joke!
The Keith asked me this this afternoon, "Yo Em! Why are gigs called gigs?"
Gee... I don't know!
I don't mean like a gigabyte, I mean the show on a stage kinda gig.
So... anybody? (insert scratching head greamlin here)

Thanks!
-Em

[Ace]

Cause big words confuse musicians! "Gig" has three letters, and two of them are the same!!

[Emthrax]

Bwahahaha! Ace! You crack me up, man.
We were just having this discussion over here, actually. I was just swapping out some strings on a guitar and Keith asked about them, I rattled off something about wanting to try a different gauge and he asked about that. I had to explain to him that the bigger the gauge the fatter the string, he was all "Wha?" (you know, because it doesn't work that way with ammo and needles and such...)
I said, "Look at the kinds of people that generally play guitar".
He replies, "good point".
I think I dug myself a hole here. Bwahaha!

[St.James]

Cause big words confuse musicians! "Gig" has three letters, and two of them are the same!!

That mostly goes for drummers though, right?

[dg]

From a little quick checking, "gig" as we use it comes from early jazz guys & first appeared in print in Downbeat Magazine in 1926. Exactly how & why they started using the word is a mystery, but a couple of theories are covered here:

http://pw2.netcom.com/~mrlucky/gig.html

http://steelguitarforum.com/Archives...-1-009852.html

[Emthrax]

Those are some great links! Awesome!

From the first one though... what?!!! "If you go back just a few hundred years, it refers to the vagina AND the asshole"

Um, yikes!

I liked this one from the second link: "God I'm Good" LOL!

[VitaminG]

from Dictionary.com:

gig2 ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gg)
n.

1. An arrangement of barbless hooks that is dragged through a school of fish to hook them in their bodies.
2. A pronged spear for fishing or catching frogs.

I think that says it all.....

[lerxstcat]

Those are some great links! Awesome!

From the first one though... what?!!! "If you go back just a few hundred years, it refers to the vagina AND the asshole"

Um, yikes!

I liked this one from the second link: "God I'm Good" LOL!

Or "Geez I'm Guessin'" on a bad night!

I'm guessing it comes from "Gigue"; don't forget a lot of Caribbean blacks were French colonial slaves, they weren't all English or American. And English does have "jig" which is close.

Of course, growing up in south Mississippi, I heard of the floundering gig before the musical gig. You know, since club owners often stab bands in the back monetarily, it might even come from there!

[RacerX]

Giggity!

[OnlineStageGear]

Giggity!

[charvelguy]

..It rhymes well with dig.. making my vocabulary sound more sophisticated.

I wish I had a true websters unabridged which showed the origin and dates..
Just shows Jazz ..also means a punishment for minor infraction of the rules.

hmm.. the things ya learn.