Jig

/dʒɪɡ/ noun, verb

Definition

A lively traditional dance with quick, bouncy movements, or a device used to guide tools in manufacturing.

Etymology

Possibly from French 'gigue' or Italian 'giga,' both names for fast dances. The word appeared in English by the 1500s describing both the dance and later the mechanical guide tool.

Kelly Says

A jig is both an Irish/Scottish folk dance and an industrial manufacturing tool—they share the same word because both involve precise, repetitive movements in a fixed pattern.

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