widget

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2][3] Most dictionaries take it as probably or perhaps from English an alteration of gadget,^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]} and Merriam-Webster and Collins state this without a hedge;^[10][11][12] the OED calls it perhaps an arbitrary alteration.^[2] Etymonline suggests that the change may have been influenced by the phrase "which it".^[6] Another suggestion, noted by the OED, is that it reflects a regional pronunciation of whatsit, which would point to Scots or Irish English, but there is no evidence to support it.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vague name for a small gadget or mechanical device: 1924, in the play Beggar on Horseback by G. S. Kaufman and M. Connelly, who are often credited with inventing the word; the play was made into a silent film in 1925.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1926,^[10] the 1989 edition of the OED and the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang to 1931,^[13][14] and Etymonline to about 1920, as American English.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word began as an indefinite name for a small device whose real name is unknown or does not matter,^[2][12] and it was first used in the United States.^[4][6][14] In business and economics it also became the name of an unspecified product used in hypothetical examples.^[10] Later uses are more specific.^[2] In computing it has meant, from 1987, a control in a graphical user interface, such as a scroll bar or dialogue box, and since 1991 a small application that shows a simple piece of information such as the weather or the time; the second sense has been explained since 1991 as a contraction of window gadget, perhaps by deliberate reinterpretation.^[2] Also in 1991 the word was applied to a small capsule in a can of beer that releases nitrogen when the can is opened, giving the beer a creamy head;^[2][5] the brewers of John Smith's used the word in their advertising for canned beer.^[14]

Timeline

• 1924 – an indefinite name for a small gadget or mechanical device.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to 1926.^[10]
• 1987 – in computing, a control element of a graphical user interface.^[2]
• 1991 – a capsule in a can or bottle of beer that releases nitrogen to produce a head.^[2][5]
• 1991 – in computing, a small application that displays simple information.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (informal) A small mechanical device or gadget, especially one whose name is unknown or forgotten: He handed me some plastic widget from the toolbox.^[12][10][2]
2. An unnamed product used as a typical example of what a company makes, in hypothetical cases: Suppose a firm sells ten thousand widgets a year.^[10]
3. A small device in a can or bottle of beer that releases nitrogen when it is opened, giving the beer a head.^[12][2][4]
4. In computing, a component of a graphical user interface, such as a button or scroll bar.^[2][4]
5. In computing, a small application that runs on a desktop or phone screen and shows simple information such as the weather.^[12][2]

Related words

• gadget
• whatsit

Usage notes

In 1966–67 the short-lived New York World Journal Tribune was nicknamed "the Widget", from the initials of its name.^[15]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
14. ^ a b c Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
15. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Widget [New York World Journal Tribune]", 11 April 2006