gigolo /ˈʒɪɡəˌləʊ/
n ( pl -los)- a man who is kept by a woman, esp an older woman
- a man who is paid to dance with or escort women
In the 1920s, the word gigolo came into vogue to describe a paid (male) escort. The gig (!) did not necessarily imply sexual services, though there was a raffish undertone. This was present in Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and the most famous song associated with the occupation, Just a Gigolo.
At that point, the term was cheerfully sexist - gigolettes need not apply. But the etymology tracks back to gigolette - a French slang term coined in the mid-Nineteenth Century.
A gigolette was a small boned cut of meat - the unflattering association was with the feminine form. The word also displayed reverse discrimination, only applying to females.
Just Gigolos?
The emergence of the gigolo did not result in a revival of gigolette. There was a 1935 Hollywood feature film with the name on the posters, but an influential film journal described the whole concept as 'sordid'.
Gigolette soldiered on in one popular art form. Mark Steyn points out that it is there in the refrain of a 1930s song, The Boulevard of Broken Dreams, a staple of Tony Bennett's repertoire.
The boulevard of broken dreams
Where gigolo and gigolette
Can take a kiss without regret
On this occasion, the late, great Mr Bennett is joined by Sting: