What does the ''G'' in G-string mean? | Notes and Queries

What does the 'G' in G-string mean?

Sian Walker, Hove England

• Gussett. The garment is basically a gussett on a string.

  Jane Scott, Nottingham

• The origin is uncertain. The earliest citation is as American English "gee string" (1878 )for a loincloth,or breechcloth, but probably once just the *string* holding up the cloth, as worn by AmerInds, rather than the whole 'garment' (which I suppose the modern version is, in the briefest possible way). The first cited spelling 'G string' (US 1891) was perhaps influenced by G-tuned string of violin (cited as G string 1831). The first striptease use for 'G string' is US (1936) in Don Passos' "Big Money".

  David Adams, London, UK