gigolo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.ləʊ/, /ˈʒɪɡ.ə.ləʊ/ (UK); /ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French gigolo,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed as a masculine of gigolette or gigole “dancing girl, prostitute”,^[2][3][4][6] perhaps from giguer or gigoter “to dance, hop about”,^[2][4][6] from gigue “fiddle; shank”.^[2][4] The same word may have been borrowed earlier as Middle English giglot “wanton girl”, later used of villainous men.^[3][4][6] It is related to jig and gigot.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A professional male dancing partner or escort (1922).^[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline quotes Edna Ferber's story Gigolo (1922), set among Americans touring Europe.^[4] It came to mean especially a man, often a young one, supported by a woman, usually an older one, in return for his attentions.^[2][5][6][7]

Timeline

• before 1325 – gigelot, a wanton woman.^[3]
• mid-15th century – giglot, a villainous man.^[4][3]
• 1922 – gigolo.^[3][4][5][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A man supported financially by a woman, usually an older one, in return for his company and sexual attentions; a kept man.
2. A man hired as a dancing partner or escort for a woman.

Related words

• giglet
• jig
• gigot

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press