gigolo

See also: gigoló, gigolò, gigolô, ĝigolo, and Appendix:Variations of "gigolo"

English

Etymology

First attested in English in 1922.[1] From French gigolo (“young lover kept by an older woman”), first attested in that sense in 1904 (attested since 1850 in the sense “lover of a gigolette or pimp”, and since 1894 in the sense “elegant young man whose means of livelihood are dubious”),[2][3] a back-formation from gigolette (“promiscuous dancing girl, girl available for hire as a dancing partner”),[4] attested since 1850, from giguer (“to dance”), from gigue (“fiddle; type of dance; jig”). More at jig.

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈdʒɪɡ.ə.ˌloʊ/[5][6] or /ˈʒɪɡ.ˌloʊ/[7][1]
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdʒɪɡ.ə.ˌləʊ/[8][6] or IPA(key): /ˈʒɪɡ.ə.ˌləʊ/[4][9]
  • Hyphenation: gig‧o‧lo

Noun

gigolo (plural gigolos)

  1. A man who has a sexual relationship with a woman from whom he receives payment.
  2. A hired escort or dancing partner for a woman.
    • 1929, Irving Caesar, "Just a Gigolo" lyrics:
      I'm just a gigolo / And everywhere I go / People know the part I'm playin' / Paid for every dance / Sellin' each romance / Ooh, what they're sayin'

Synonyms

  • See also Thesaurus:prostitute

Translations

References

  1. 1 2 “gigolo” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  2. ↑ “gigolo” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
  3. ↑ Dictionnaire étymologique et historique du français (Larousse Références, →ISBN, page 339.
  4. 1 2 “gigolo” in the Collins English Dictionary, Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers.
  5. ↑ Macmillan American English Dictionary, online
  6. 1 2 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, online
  7. ↑ Collins American English Dictionary, online
  8. ↑ Macmillan British English Dictionary, online
  9. ↑ Harrap's Shorter Dictionary, 8th Edition, page 389
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.