What is "jig"

Jig \Jig\, v. i.

1. To dance a jig; to skip about.

   You jig, you amble, and you lisp.
   --Shak.

2. To move with a skip or rhythm; to move with vibrations or jerks.

   The fin would jig off slowly, as if it were looking for nothing at all.
   --Kipling.

Jig \Jig\, n. [OF. gigue a stringed instrument, a kind of dance, F. gigue dance, tune, gig; of German origin; cf. MHG. g[=i]ge fiddle, G. geige. Cf. Gig a fiddle, Gig a whirligig.] 1. (Mus.) A light, brisk musical movement. Hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig. --Shak. 3. A light, humorous piece of writing, esp. in rhyme; a farce in verse; a ballad. [Obs.] A jig shall be clapped at, and every rhyme Praised and applauded. --Beau. & Fl. 4. A piece of sport; a trick; a prank. [Obs.] Is't not a fine jig, A precious cunning, in the late Protector? --Beau. & Fl. 5. A trolling bait, consisting of a bright spoon and a hook attached. 6. (Mach.)

1. A small machine or handy tool; esp.: (Metal Working) A contrivance fastened to or inclosing a piece of work, and having hard steel surfaces to guide a tool, as a drill, or to form a shield or template to work to, as in filing.

2. (Mining) An apparatus or a machine for jigging ore.

   Drill jig, a jig for guiding a drill. See Jig, 6 (a) .

   Jig drilling, Jig filing (Metal Working), a process of drilling or filing in which the action of the tool is directed or limited by a jig.

   Jig saw, a sawing machine with a narrow, vertically reciprocating saw, used to cut curved and irregular lines, or ornamental patterns in openwork, a scroll saw; -- called also gig saw.

Jig \Jig\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Jigged; p. pr. & vb. n. Jigging.]

1. To sing to the tune of a jig.

   Jig off a tune at the tongue's end.
   --Shak.

2. To trick or cheat; to cajole; to delude.
   --Ford.

3. (Mining) To sort or separate, as ore in a jigger or sieve. See Jigging, n.

4. (Metal Working) To cut or form, as a piece of metal, in a jigging machine.

"lively dance," 1560s, perhaps related to Middle French giguer "to dance," or to the source of German Geige "violin." Meaning "piece of sport, trick" is 1590s, now mainly in phrase the jig is up (first attested 1777 as the jig is over). As a verb from 1580s.

n. 1 (context music English) A light, brisk musical movement; a gigue. 2 (context traditional Irish music and dance English) A lively dance in 6/8 (double jig), 9/8 (slip jig) or 12/8 (single jig) time; a tune suitable for such a dance. By extension, a lively traditional tune in any of these time signatures. Unqualified, the term is usually taken to refer to a double (6/8) jig. 3 (context traditional English Morris dancing English) A dance performed by one or sometimes two individual dancers, as opposed to a dance performed by a set or team. 4 (context fishing English) A type of lure consisting of a hook molded into a weight, usually with a bright or colorful body. 5 A device in manufacturing, woodworking, or other creative endeavors for controlling the location, path of movement, or both of either a workpiece or the tool that is operating upon it. Subsets of this general class include machining jigs, woodworking jigs, welders' jigs, jewelers' jigs, and many others. 6 (context mining English) An apparatus or machine for jigging ore. 7 (context obsolete English) A light, humorous piece of writing, especially in rhyme; a farce in verse; a ballad. 8 (context obsolete English) A trick; a prank. vb. 1 To move briskly, especially as a dance. 2 To move with a skip or rhythm; to move with vibrations or jerks. 3 (context fishing English) To fish with a jig. 4 To sing to the tune of a jig. 5 To trick or cheat; to cajole; to delude. 6 (context mining English) To sort or separate, as ore in a jigger or sieve. 7 To cut or form, as a piece of metal, in a jigging machine.

1. n. music in three-four time for dancing a jig

2. any of various old rustic dances involving kicking and leaping

3. [also: jigging, jigged]

1. v. dance a quick dance with leaping and kicking motions

2. [also: jigging, jigged]

A jig is a type of folk dance.

Jig may also refer to:

A jig used in making jewelry, a specific type of jig, is a plate or open frame for holding work and helping to shape jewelry components made out of wire or small sheets of metal. A jig in the jewelry making application is used to help establish a pattern for use in shaping the wire or sheets of metal. In the jewelry application, the shaping of the metal is done by hand or with simple hand tools like a hammer.

A jig is a type of custom-made tool used to control the location and/or motion of parts or other tools.

Jig is a 2011 documentary produced and directed by Sue Bourne about the world of Irish dance and the fortieth Irish Dancing World Championships, held in March 2010 in Glasgow.

The jig is a form of lively folk dance in compound meter, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It developed in 16th-century England, and was quickly adopted on the Continent where it eventually became the final movement of the mature Baroque dance suite (the French gigue; Italian and Spanish giga). Today it is most associated with Irish dance music, Scottish country dance and the Métis people in Canada. Jigs were originally in duple compound meter, (e.g., time), but have been adapted to a variety of time signatures, by which they are often classified into groups, including light jigs, slip jigs, single jigs, double jigs, and treble jigs.