gigolo

/ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/

//ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gigolo" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gigolo” is uncommon English (frequency #54,803 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#54,803
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A man funded by women who find him attractive, particularly

Corpus desk

Index EN-gigolo · gigolo · English

gigolo · rank #54,803 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #54,803
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH Gers

Nearest frequency peer: Gers (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “gigolo”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gigolo” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gigolo
PropertyValue
Headwordgigolo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#54,803
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gigolo” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).gigolofalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Gers” (#54,801), “girlish” (#54,805), “geriatrics” (#54,800). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gigolo” is #54,803. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gigolo is uncommon English at frequency #54,803 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for gigolo in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in English in 1922. From French gigolo (“young lover kept by an older woman”), first attested in that sense in 1904 (attested since 1850 in the sense “Amant de cœur, compagnon d'une gigolette", and since 1894 in the sense “elegant young man w… The correct English form is gigolo, spelled G-I-G-O-L-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    A man funded by women who find him attractive, particularly
  2. 2
    A man funded by women who find him attractive, particularly

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how gigolo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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'

Etymology

First attested in English in 1922. From French gigolo (“young lover kept by an older woman”), first attested in that sense in 1904 (attested since 1850 in the sense “Amant de cœur, compagnon d'une gigolette", and since 1894 in the sense “elegant young man whose means of livelihood are dubious”), a back-formation from gigolette (“promiscuous dancing girl, girl available for hire as a dancing partner”), attested since 1850, from giguer (“to dance”), from gigue (“fiddle; type of dance; jig”). More at jig.

Synonyms

male prostitute

This word in other languages

gigoló(Español)gigolo(Français)Gigolo(Deutsch)acompanhante(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gigolo"?
"gigolo" is spelled G-I-G-O-L-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/.
What does "gigolo" mean?
As a noun, "gigolo" means: A man funded by women who find him attractive, particularly
How do you pronounce "gigolo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gigolo" is /ˈd͡ʒɪɡ.ə.loʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gigolo"?
First attested in English in 1922. From French gigolo (“young lover kept by an older woman”), first attested in that sense in 1904 (attested since 1850 in the sense “Amant de cœur, compagnon d'une gigolette", and since 1894 in the sense “elegant y... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gigolo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

goodly#54,808groupe#54,814froggy#54,787Frauen#54,785

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list