Gig

Posted by Bob on October 20, 2000

In Reply to: Gig posted by Btd on October 20, 2000

: I always hear this word in old 70's shows and movies meaning a performers' (like a music band) scheduled act or performance but is G.I.G an acronym or a short word for something else?

The dictionary says the etymology is unknown, and that first use is about 1926. It is therefore 99.99% unlikely to be an acronym. You can take that as a Quasi-Universal Truth: if someone claims a word is/might be an acronym, and the origin is pre 1940, it ain't. Folk etymologies spring up all the time to "invent" acronymic origins of words (e.g., posh) but few of those stories hold water. AWOL is cited as an exception, but I think it's still used most often as an acronym, and not really firmly established as a word per se.

  • Gig Btd 10/20/00
    • Gig Bob 10/20/00