gigue

[ zheeg ]

noun
  1. Dance. jig2 (def. 1).

  2. Music. a dance movement often forming the conclusion of the classical suite.

Origin of gigue

1
1675–85; <French, probably <English jig2

Words Nearby gigue

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How to use gigue in a sentence

  • It is in imitation of a national song, and is sometimes like a slow gigue, sometimes like a pastorale.

  • The sonata commenced in D minor; in the gigue there was constant modulation towards G minor.

    The Pianoforte Sonata | J.S. Shedlock
  • The last movement, still in the same key, is a gigue, thus keeping well in the shadow of the suite.

  • The last of the particularly characteristic dances is the gigue with its counterparts mentioned above.

    Music: An Art and a Language | Walter Raymond Spalding
  • The adagio is a sarabande, and the last movement has the characteristics of the gigue.

British Dictionary definitions for gigue

gigue

/ (ʒiːɡ) /


noun
  1. a piece of music, usually in six-eight time and often fugal, incorporated into the classical suite

  2. a formal couple dance of the 16th and 17th centuries, derived from the jig

Origin of gigue

1
C17: from French, from Italian giga, literally: a fiddle; see gigot

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