gauge

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɡeɪd͡ʒ/^[1]

Etymology

It comes from Middle English gauge,^[2][3][4][5] from Anglo-Norman gauge,^[3][4][5] from Old North French gauger “to measure, calibrate”,^[3][4] from gauge “gauging rod”,^[2][3][4] of Germanic origin,^[2][6] perhaps Frankish *galgo (“rod, pole”),^[3][4] related to gallows.^[3][4] Barnhart notes that the spellings gauge and gage have existed side by side since Middle English, but in American English gage is found only in technical uses.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A fixed standard of measure (1357 in the OED; as a surname about 1332);^[7][3][4] the verb, to measure the contents of a cask, is from 1353.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant to measure exactly from the 15th century,^[3][4][7] and figuratively to judge or appraise from the 1580s.^[4][7] The noun meant a measuring instrument from the 1670s,^[4] and the distance between the rails of a railway from 1841.^[4][7] It also names the bore of a shotgun and the thickness of sheet metal or wire.^[2][5][6]

Timeline

• about 1332 – in the surname Gageman.^[3][4]
• 1353 – verb, to measure a cask's contents.^[7]
• 1357 – a standard of measure.^[7]
• 1583 – verb, to judge a person.^[7]
• 1670s – a measuring instrument.^[4]
• 1841 – the distance between railway rails.^[4][7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A standard or scale of measurement; a standard dimension, quantity or capacity.
2. An instrument for measuring or testing.
3. A means of estimating or judging; a test.
4. The distance between the rails of a railroad.
5. The inner diameter of a shotgun barrel, given as the number of fitting lead balls that weigh a pound.
6. The thickness of sheet metal or the diameter of wire.

Verb

1. To measure precisely; to find the capacity or contents of.
2. To estimate, evaluate or judge.
3. To make something conform to a standard measurement.
4. To mix plaster in fixed proportions, or to rub bricks or stones to size.

Word family

• gaugeable
• gaugeably
• misgauge
• regauge
• ungauged

Related words

• gage
• gallows

Usage notes

Random House lists evaluate, assess, value and calculate as synonyms of the verb in its sense of appraising.^[6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press