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Definition 2024

gigolo

gigolo

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

English

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 Wikisaurus:prostitute

Translations

References

  1. 1 2 “gigolo” in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online.
  2. 1 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 2-03-710228-3), page 339
  4. 1 2 “gigolo”, in the Collins English Dictionary (CollinsDictionary.com).
  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

Etymology

First attested in English in 1922.[1] From French gigolo ‎(“young lover kept by an older woman”)[2] (first attested in that sense in 1901; attested since 1894 in the sense "elegant young man whose means of livelihood are dubious", and since 1850 in the sense "lover of a gigolette or pimp"),[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”).

Pronunciation

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

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