Etymology

Origin unknown. Perhaps from Old English gǣgan ‎(“to go, walk, pass by”), as in forgǣgan ‎(“to transgress, trespass, prevaricate, pass by, neglect, omit”), ofergǣgan ‎(“to transgress”), or from Old Norse geiga ‎(“to deviate to the side, go the wrong way, rove at random”), both from Proto-Germanic *gaigijaną, *gīganą ‎(“to move”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeyǵʰ-, *gʰeygʰ- ‎(“to gape, protrude”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰēy(w)-, *ǵʰyāw- ‎(“to yawn, gape”). Cognate with Old Frisian gēia ‎(“to overstep, exceed”), Norwegian dialectal geige ‎(“to sway back and forth”), Middle High German gīgen ‎(“to play the violin”), Old English gǣnan ‎(“to gape”). More at jig.