Gadget

How to spell gadget

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce gadget

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does gadget mean?

1. nounA small mechanical or electronic device, especially an ingenious or novel one.

Gadget in a sentence

• The kitchen drawer was full of every gadget he had ever bought.

• This travel gadget folds flat so it fits inside a coat pocket.

Where does gadget come from?

Language of origin: French

Gadget is a relatively young word that surfaced in English late in the nineteenth century, originally as sailors' slang for any small mechanical fitting whose proper name had been forgotten. The most widely accepted theory traces it to the French gâchette, the little catch or trigger inside a lock or firearm, or to the related gâche, a small fastening plate, both built on the idea of a tiny working part. Some accounts instead point to a Scots or naval term, and the truth is that no single line of descent can be proven, which is why dictionaries label the origin uncertain. By the early twentieth century the meaning had broadened from a nameless fitting to any clever little tool or device, and the spread of consumer electronics later cemented the modern sense. The soft g sound at the start, spelled with a plain g rather than a j, is the small spelling cue worth remembering.

How the word is built

• gadget (single unanalysable root; no productive prefix or suffix)