gaugen.
/ɡeɪdʒ/, U.S. /ɡeɪdʒ/ I. A measure or extent, and related uses.† 2. A limit of distance or extent. Also figurative. Obsolete.
1.
a. A fixed or standard measure or scale of measurement, the measure to which a thing must conform; esp. a measure of the capacity or contents of a barrel, etc., the diameter of a bullet or the thickness of sheet iron.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > [noun] > that by which one measures > an authorized measuring standard
assizea1400
standard1424
gaugec1450
stint1485
stand1550
standing measure1556
Johansson1918
1357 Act 30 Edw. III Stat. i. c. 5 Les tonelx de vin duissent contenir certein nombre des galons solonc launciene gauge.]
c1450 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 438 Eampylle of meatynge [of ashelers] after the gawge of xij. meten, in lengthe xviij. yerdes.
1491 Act 7 Hen. VII c. 7 §1 Malmeseys..shalbe of full gauge conteynyng vjxx and vj galons at the lest in mesure.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Iauge, as poison de iauge, an hogshead of gage.
1595 in Munim. Irvine (1891) II. 34 The gadge of Hering, quhitefische and Salmond the Hogheid was reduceit.
1638 J. Penkethman Artachthos sig. D From which weight is derived or drawne the Assise and Gawge of all manner of wet and dry measures.
1677 A. Marvell Let. to Mayor of Hull 10 Apr. in Wks. (1875) I. 540 The Gager shall always leave with the brewer a note of his gage.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §239 (note) The jumpers were kept to the same gauge by means of two brass rings..when the jumpers by wearing became too little, they were..made to their full size, by the hammer, according to the gauge ring referred to.
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 137 A bullet of 50-gauge exceeding in range one of 25-gauge.
1871 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 347 From the smallest mouse~tail file..to the square file..there is a multifarious diversity in shape, size, and gauge of cutting.
1892 Workshop Receipts Ser. v. 287 It is an advantage, with all sheets thicker than 20 gauge, to galvanise after corrugation.
b. transferred and figurative. Capacity, extent; dimensions, proportions. Chiefly in phrase to take the gauge of.
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the world > space > [noun] > a containing space > capacity
receivablenessc1443
capacity1481
content1491
receipt1565
continenta1608
capability1616
receptibility1651
gauge1655
reception1667
the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)]
bemetec893
meteOE
mensurec1429
gaugec1440
measure1456
to take a scantling of1585
fathom1611
admetiate1623
quantify1627
span1641
to take (also get) the measure of1650
mensurate1653
to take the gauge of1780
spoil1794
quantitate1900
pace1955
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. vi. 291 He needed to be a good Mathematician in the gages of mens bellies..proportioning it to their severall ages, labour..appetites, &c.
1780 E. Burke Speech Bristol previous to Election 25 He [Howard] has visited all Europe..to take the gage and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt.
1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. i. iv. 56 Rienzi sat at the feast..taking guage and measurement of the intellect, policy, temperament, of every guest.
1860 J. G. Holland Miss Gilbert's Career xviii. 271 The old man looked up and around, apparently taking the gauge of the structure.
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea I. xiv. 209 His intellect..was much above the low gauge which people used to assign to it.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda I. i. viii. 157 The broadening of gauge in crinolines seemed to demand an agitation.
c. Physics. [translating German maßstab (H. Weyl 1918, in Sitzungsber. d. Preuss. Akad. d. Wissensch. 30 May 475).] A concept introduced by Weyl as a measure of the vector field that in his cosmology related length and position, represented mathematically by a potential function; hence, any function introduced as an additional term into the equations of the potentials of a field such that the derived equations of observable physical quantities are unaltered by the introduction. Frequently attributive.
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1920 A. S. Eddington Space, Time & Gravitation xi. 169 The only possible course is to lay down (1) a mesh-system filling all the space and time considered, (2) a definite unit of interval, or gauge, at every point of space and time.
1920 A. S. Eddington Space, Time & Gravitation xi. 176 The radius of curvature of the world provides a natural and absolute gauge at every point; and it will presumably introduce the greatest possible symmetry into our laws if the observer chooses this, or some definite fraction of it, as his gauge.
1923 A. S. Eddington Math. Theory Relativity vii. 202 Change of gauge is a generalisation of change of unit in physical equations, the unit being no longer a constant but an arbitrary function of position.
1940 W. Pauli in Physical Rev. 15 Oct. 718/1 By ‘gauge-transformation of the first kind’ we understand a transformation U→Ueiα U*→U*e—iα with an arbitrary space and time function α. By ‘gauge-transformation of the second kind’ we understand a transformation of the type ϕk→ϕk−i(∂α/∂xk)/ε as for those of the electromagnetic potentials.
1959 J. Aharoni Special Theory of Relativity i. 29 We draw an arbitrary Cartesian system x, t and prescribe along the axes two gauges of geometrical length g1 and g2, one to represent a unit of distance, the other a unit of time.
1961 Encycl. Dict. Physics III. 409/2 The gauge is chosen for convenience in a particular problem to bring about symmetry (gauge invariance) or a convenient form of equations involving the potentials.
1965 R. Adler et al. Introd. Gen. Relativity iv. 106 The four-vector function ϕμ has no direct physical meaning; only its four-dimensional curl has physical meaning. It is thus clear that we may make a so-called gauge transformation on ϕμ; that is, we can add an arbitrary four-dimensional divergence..to ϕμ without altering F μν and therefore without altering the physical situation.
1965 R. Adler et al. Introd. Gen. Relativity xiii. 405 Quantities and relations that do not change under gauge transformation are called gauge invariants.
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the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [noun] > limit
markOE
measurea1375
bound1393
sizec1420
banka1425
limita1425
limitationa1475
stint1509
within one's tether?1523
confine1548
tropic?1594
scantling1597
gauge1600
mound1605
boundalsa1670
meta1838
parameter1967
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) iii. lxvii. 134 Neither we have any gage or stay of rule and command, nor [etc.].
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 98 How high it [Nilus] riseth, is known by markes and measures taken of certain pits. The ordinary height of it is sixteen cubits. Vnder that gage the waters ouerflow not at all.
1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars 103 That Corinthian vessels grew to an exceeding high rate..he grievously complained, and gave his opinion, that there should be a gage set and a mediocritie kept in houshold furniture.
3. spec. The distance between the rails of a railway, tramway, etc.; more fully gauge of way; also, the distance between the opposite wheels of a carriage. mixed gauge: a broad and narrow gauge laid down together. See also broad gauge n., narrow gauge n.
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society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > track > permanent way > space between rails > gauge
wide gauge1837
narrow gauge1839
gauge1841
broad gauge1844
1841 S. C. Brees Gloss. Civil Engin. Gauge of Way (as applied to railways), the width in the clear between the top flanches or rounded rims of the rails.
1847 J. R. McCulloch Descr. & Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire (ed. 3) II. iii. v. 57 The distance between the opposite rails, or width of gauge, which, of course, determines the width of the carriage.
1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table v. 145 The engine-driver of our broad-gauge mail-train.
1862 S. Smiles Lives Engineers III. 165 When forming the road, the proper gauge had also to be determined. What width was this to be? The gauge of the first tramroad laid down had virtually settled the point. The gauge of wheels of the common vehicles of the country..which were first used on the tramroads—was about 4 feet 8½ inches. And so the first tramroads were laid down of this gauge.
1876 F. S. Williams Midland Railway 555 Formerly there was the mixed gauge for both broad and narrow gauge trains; but the outer rail has been removed.
1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 198/2 The track is of the usual gauge.
4. technical.
a. The length of projection of a slate or tile beyond that which overlaps it. Now also called the margin.
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1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 274 At 6 Inches Gage, about 800..Tyles will cover a Sprare; at 7 Inch Gage, 690.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 482/1 Gage, or Gauge,..the length of a slate or tile below the lap.
1851 W. Laxton Builder's Price Bk. 38 Pantiling per square. Laid dry, to a 10-inch gauge.
b. (See quot. 1847-78.)
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1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Gage, a measure of slate, one yard square, about a ton in weight.
5. Nautical. (Usually spelt gage.)
a. The position of one vessel with reference to another and the wind. In phrase to have or keep the weather gage of: to be to windward of; also figurative to get the better of. Subsequently also in lee gage (see quots. 1644, 1794).
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society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > [noun] > weather-gauge
gauge1591
wind-gauge1652
weather-gauge1892
1591 W. Raleigh Rep. Fight Iles of Açores sig. C2v The rest..entred as far as the place permitted & their own necessities, to keep the weather gage of the enemy.
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. (at cited word) When one ship is to-weather of another, she hath, as they terme it, the weather-gage, but they never use to say, the Lee-gage.
1692 Smith's Sea-mans Gram. (new ed.) i. xvi. 78 Weather Gage, is when one Ship has the Wind (or is to Weather) of another.
1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. II. 57 They tacked, when at about two leagues distance, in order to gain the weather gage.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship II. 253 Lee-gage, a ship or fleet to leeward of another is said to have the lee-gage.
1795 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) II. 14 Taken aback with a fine breeze at N.W. which gave us the weather-gage, whilst the Enemy's Fleet kept the southerly gage.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. v. 523 After a variety of movements in which Suffrein still kept the weather gage, the two fleets came to action.
1835–40 J. M. Wilson's Tales Bord. (1859) XX. 270 He has got the weather gage of them, and for us to run down to them would be to run ourselves into the lion's mouth.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Lee-guage.
b. The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water with a full cargo.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel with reference to qualities or attributes > [noun] > attributes of vessel > depth to which vessel sinks > when full of cargo
gauge1644
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. (at cited word) So many foote as she drawes, is called the ships gage.
1800 [see gauge-mark n. at Compounds 1a]. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk.
6. Plastering. (See quots.)
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > plaster > [noun] > plaster mixed with putty
gauge1842
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 482/1 Gage, or Gauge,..the greater or less quantity of plaster of Paris used with the common plaster to accelerate its setting.
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 203/1 Gauge, a mixture of fine stuff and plaster, or putty and plaster, or coarse stuff and plaster; used in finishing the best ceilings and for mouldings and sometimes for setting walls.
II. An instrument for measuring or testing.† 7. figurative.1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits xiv. 247 [Bacon]..basked in an element of contemplation out of all modern English atmospheric gauges.
a. A gauging-rod.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring volume > gauging rod or line
gauge1530
gauging-rod1570
gauging-line1656
gauging-ruler1656
gauging-rule1807
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 224/2 Gauge to measure wyne with, gauge.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Iauge, a Gage; the instrument wherewith caske is measured.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Gage, a Rod to measure Casks with.
b. (See quot. c1780.) Obsolete.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > instrument for measuring level of
gauge1635
1635 in Nicholls Forest Dean (1858) 276 Implemnts..1 tuiron plate, 1 plackett, 1 gadge.
c1780 Wyrrall in Forest Dean (1858) 279 Gage, two rods of iron jointed in the middle with a ring for the filler to drop the shortest end into the furnace at the top, to know when it is worked down low enough to be charged again.
8. A graduated instrument or vessel for gauging or measuring the force or quantity of a fluctuating object, as a rainfall, tide, stream, wind, etc. Also rain-gauge, wind-gauge, etc.: see rain n.1, etc.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > graduated instruments > for measuring a fluctuating object
gauge1688
1688 Bp. G. Burnet Three Lett. State of Italy 145 There is a Gage, by which they Weigh the Water, and so they know how the Evaporation advances; it is of Silver, and is so made, that according to the weight of the Water, it sinks in to such a depth; & so by the degrees markt upon it, they know how heavy the Water is.
1763 W. Lewis Commercium Philosophico-technicum 286 A smiths bellows raised a mercurial gage about an inch so that it would have raised a water-gage about fourteen inches.
1830 J. Ross Narr. 2nd Voy. (1835) xxxv. 490 Nor is it an easy matter to measure the depth to which a fall of snow is equivalent; such is..the difficulty of securing any thing like an average within the compass of any gauge that has yet been devised.
1849 J. F. W. Herschel Man. Sci. Enq. (Lords Commissioners Admiralty) 285 One inch in depth of rain in the gauge will be measured by 100 inches of the graduated vessel.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. iv. 115 They were followed by about three inches (measured by the mercurial gauge) of air.
1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. ii. 31 The sea~waves were recorded on the self-registering tide gauges.
9. A contrivance attached to a vessel, esp. a boiler, to show the height or condition of its contents; more fully gauge-cock, gauge-glass. Of an air-pump: An instrument which points out the degree of exhaustion in the receiver; usually with word prefixed specifying the form of gauge, as barometer gauge, siphon gauge: see those words.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring level in a container > esp. in boilers
gauge1799
water gauge1844
gauge-glass1849
water glass1895
1799 W. Jones Adams's Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. (ed. 2) I. ii. 54 A syphon gage, which is occasionally substituted for the barometer gage.
1824 ‘R. Stuart’ Descr. Hist. Steam Engine 204 This temperature..was ascertained by the common means of a gauge placed on the boiler.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 376 The pipe G is a sort of gauge, by means of which, after the pulp rises to a proper height in the vessel L, the remainder of the water is carried off into the cistern C.
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 125 Each boiler having its feed pipe, gauges, and blow-off pipes as before.
1876 R. Routledge Discov. 19th Cent. 12 The gauge is screwed into some part of the boiler, where it can always be seen by the person in charge.
10. An instrument for ascertaining and verifying dimensions, esp. for testing and sorting into trade sizes tools, sheet iron, wire, etc.; an instrument by which tools, parts of machinery, etc., are regulated, in process of manufacture, to standard dimensions.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for determining or verifying dimensions
gauge1678
sizer1678
metroscope1845
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ii. 32 This plate must be a gage to file your Worm and Groove to equal breadth by.
1712 J. Arbuthnot Law is Bottomless-pit 8 Timothy..propos'd to his Mistress, that she should entertain no servant that was above four Foot seven Inches high, and for that Purpose he prepar'd a Gage, by which they were to be measur'd.
1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor (at cited word) Gages are used by the Smiths for gageing Bolts, so as to make them of a true and right size.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 29 It is much easier to file correctly with the assistance of a gauge than a pair of callipers.
1832 G. R. Porter Treat. Manuf. Porcelain & Glass 46 Certain pegs are fixed as a gauge without the circumference of the revolving board, but placed in such a manner, that whenever the plastic clay is brought to coincide at the requisite points with the gauge the thrower knows that the article has attained the proper dimensions.
1841 S. C. Brees Gloss. Civil Engin. (at cited word) It is very necessary, in the practical working of railways, to keep standard iron gauges, from which all those employed on the line should be made.
1863 J. Tyndall Heat iv. 86 A cold bar which fits between the two sides of a gauge will not fit when heated.
11. An adjustable tool used by carpenters and joiners for marking lines parallel to the edge of a board. mortice gauge n. one for marking parallel lines for mortice-cutting.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > for marking lines parallel to edge
gauge1678
swage1688
peak1825
marking gauge1875
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. v. 90 Of the Gage... Its Office is to Gage a line parallel to any straight side.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Gage, in Joinery, is an Instrument made to strike a Line truly parallel to the streight Side of any Board, or Piece of Stuff.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 566 The gauge is an instrument used for drawing or marking a line on a piece of stuff to a width parallel to the edge.
12.
a. Printing. A strip of anything used for measuring and regulating the length of a page or the width of a margin.
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society > communication > printing > miscellaneous printers' equipment > [noun] > gauges
male gauge1683
gauge1841
line gauge1948
type-gauge-
1841 W. Savage Dict. Art of Printing (at cited word) A Gauge, to regulate the margin, is used both by compositors and pressmen..The pressmen require a gauge..in order to keep the head lines of the pages of each sheet precisely at the same distance from the edge of the paper.
1880 Printing Trades Jrnl. No. 30. 13 There is a guage both at back and side to ensure absolute uniformity in folding.
1891 C. T. Jacobi Printing v. 69 The length of a page having been determined, a gauge should be made to the size.
b. Type-founding. A piece of hard wood or metal, variously notched, used to adjust the dimensions, slopes, etc. of the various sorts of letters.
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society > communication > printing > type founding > type-founding equipment > [noun] > gauge
gauge1683
type-gauge-
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 85 The Face-Gage is a Square Notch cut with a File into the edge of a thin Plate of Steel, Iron, or Brass... There be three of these Gages made, for the Letters to be cut on one Body.
13. A contrivance to limit or regulate the penetration of a cutting tool.? Always used in combination with the name of the tool with which it is used or of the process in which it is employed, as auger-gauge, boring-gauge, except where the name may be supplied from the context.
14. figurative. A means of estimating or determining, a test.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > [noun] > that by which one measures
measure1340
sheltron1377
scantling1587
scale1626
gauge1692
measurer1775
Richter scale1958
1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 102 If Money were..to be had..from the Owner himself,..it might then probably be had at the Market..Rate, and would be a constant gauge of your Trade and Wealth.
1728 E. Young Love of Fame iii, in Wks. (1757) I. 102 Another judges by a surer gage, An author's principles, or parentage.
1843 R. W. Emerson Transcendentalist in Dial Jan. 312 Besides farmers, sailors, and weavers, there must be a few persons of purer fire kept specially as gauges and meters.
1848 H. Rogers Ess. I. vi. 289 A standard or gauge of the highest and sublimest pitch to which the unaided intellect of man can aspire.
1868 M. Pattison Suggestions Acad. Organisation iv. 71 The impracticability of any equitable gauge of property, either by testimonial or by enquiry, has been felt.
1884 Cent. Mag. July 430 The gauge of a pensioner's disability is always his unfitness to do manual work.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. (In sense 5b.)
gauge-mark n.
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1800 Hull Pilot. Act 22 Two guage marks to be made and fixed on the stem and stern.
b. (In sense 1.)
gauge-ring n.
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1793Gauge ring [see sense 1a].
C2. † gauge penny n. Obsolete a gauger's fee or perquisite.† gauge pipe n. Obsolete (cf. gauge-cock n.).
gauge-book n. ? a book on star-gauging.
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1872 R. A. Proctor Ess. Astron. iii. 35 Here..are a few of his [Sir John Herschel's] notes respecting the lesser Magellanic Cloud: they are taken from the Guagebooks.
gauge box n. (see quots.).
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1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gage-box for Shingles, a box of a certain size in which shingles are laid to form bunches of a certain number.
gauge brick n. (see quots.).
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the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > measurement of temperature > [noun] > specific indicators of temperature
thermoscope1877
gauge brick1880
Seger (also seger) cone1895
1880 R. Jefferies Round about Great Estate viii. 152 She knew when the oven was hot enough by the gauge-brick: this particular brick as the heat increased became spotted with white, and when it had turned quite white the oven was ready.
gauge-cock n. (see quot. 1849).
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1824 ‘R. Stuart’ Descr. Hist. Steam Engine 88 A cock to supply air to the receiver..is also employed as a gauge-cock.
1838 R. Stephenson Descr. Steam Engine 17 Two gauge cocks..are fixed in the side of the fire box.
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 203/1 Gauge-cocks, two or three small cocks fixed in front of the boiler of a steam engine, for the purpose of ascertaining the height of the water.
Categories »
gauge-concussion n. ‘the lateral rocking of railway carriages against the rails’ (Ogilvie).
gauge-door n. (see quot.).
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1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Gauge-door, a wooden door fixed in a mine in an airway for regulating the supply of ventilation necessary for a certain district, or number of men, &c.
gauge-field n. Astronomy a restricted area of the sky photographed for the purpose of gauging the number and density of the stars in that region.
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1891 Smithsonian Inst. Rep. 107 A photographic gauge-field on a small scale.
gauge-frame n. (a) the frame of a gauge-weir; (b) a frame used to gauge the loading of railway trucks, so as to limit it to the size capable of passing through tunnels, etc.
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1791 R. Mylne in Rep. Engineers Commissioners Navigation Thames 55 If weirs were raised with gauge-frames, the Water could be penned over all the shoals.
gauge function n. Mathematics (see quot. 1965).
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1937 J. von Neumann Coll. Wks. (1962) IV. 208 A familiar symmetric gauge function is ϕp(u1,..un = ∑ni=1 |ui|p1/p for 1 ≤ p < + ∞.
1965 Pacific Jrnl. Math. 15 242 A function ϕ on a complex vector space is called a gauge function if ϕ(u) > 0 when u ≠ 0, ϕ(αu) = |α|ϕ(u) for complex α, ϕ(u + v) ≤ ϕ(u) + ϕ(v).
gauge-glass n. a strong glass tube attached to a boiler to indicate the height or agitation of the water in it.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring level in a container > esp. in boilers
gauge1799
water gauge1844
gauge-glass1849
water glass1895
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 203/1 Gauge-glass, in locomotive engines, a strong glass tube, connected with the boiler by two cocks attached to the gauge-cock pedestal.
gauge-knife n. a knife with some contrivance for regulating the amount cut off.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > knife > [noun] > other knives
bollock knifec1400
paring knife1415
spudc1440
pricking-knifec1500
shaving-knife1530–1
by-knifec1570
heading knife1574
stock knife1582
drawing knife1583
bung-knife1592
weeding knife1598
drawing knife1610
heading knife1615
draw knife1679
dressing knife1683
redishing knife1688
mocotaugan1716
skinning knife1767
paper knife1789
draw shave1824
leaf-cutter1828
piece-knife1833
nut-pick1851
relic knife1854
butch1859
straw-knife1862
sportsman's companion1863
ulu1864
skinner1872
hacker1875
over-shave1875
stripping-knife1875
Stanley knife1878
flat-back1888
gauge-knife1888
tine-knife1888
plough1899
band-knife1926
X-Acto1943
shank1953
box cutter1955
ratchet knife1966
ratchet1975
1888 Daily News 29 Dec. 6/3 A lady..was busily engaged with a gauge knife slicing up the puddings into ha'penny pen'orths.
gauge-ladder n. (see quots.).
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1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gage-ladder, a square timber frame for raising the ends of wheeling planks in excavating. A horsing-block.
gauge-lamp n. (see quots.).
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1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 203/2 Gauge-lamp, in locomotive engines, a small lamp placed beside the gauge-glass at night.
gauge-lathe n. a lathe for turning work to pattern or size, the depth of cut being regulated by a gauge or stop.
gauge-paddle n. a paddle or shutter used in a gauge-weir.
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the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > weir > parts of
gauge-paddle1795
1795 J. Phillips Gen. Hist. Inland Navigation (rev. ed.) Add. 66 Not to pass any lock unless the water flows over the waste wire or gauge paddle.
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1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 117/1 Yat the peny which is called the Gauge peny, be not paied to the Gaugeour.
gauge-pile n. (see quots.).
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1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gage-pile (Pile-driving), a preliminary pile to mark the desired course.
gauge-pin n. (see quots.).
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society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > device for keeping paper in position
frisket1683
gauge-pin1891
lay gauge1892
1891 C. T. Jacobi Printing 285 Gauge pins, small steel pins with teeth, for securing the lay on small platen machines.
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1702 T. Savery Miner's Friend 25 The design of a Servant to do Mischief..is easily discovered by those Guage Pipes.
gauge-plate n. (see quot.).
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1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Gauge-plate, an adjustable plate fixed to shearing, cropping, and cutting-off machines, for insuring the uniform length of short pieces..to be cut off.
gauge-point n. a point marked on a gauging rod, slide rule, etc., to indicate the diameter of a cylinder one inch high containing a unit of a given liquid measure; also, the length marked by this point.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring volume > gauging rod or line > point on gauging rod
gauge-point1721
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Gauge Point of Solid Measure, is the Diameter of a Circle whose Area is equal to the solid Content of the same Measure.
1807 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) II. 82 On it are marked WG at 17.15, and AG at 18.95, the wine and ale gage points.
1842 W. T. Brande Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art 487/2 Gauge-point, is a term used in Gauging to denote the diameter of a cylinder whose altitude is one inch, and its content equal to that of a unit of a given measure.
gauge-rod n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. Gauge-rod, a rod of iron from 1/ 4 in. to 1/ 2 in. in diameter, and used for measuring the internal diameters of portions of work in cases where great accuracy is essential.
gauge-saw n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gage-saw, a saw having an adjustable frame or clamp, which determines the depth of kerf.
gauge-stuff n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > cement or mortar > [noun] > other kinds of cement or mortar
maltha?1440
testacyec1440
putty1472
tarras1612
natural cement1753
Roman cement1768
sand mortar1775
Roman cement1800
Parker's cement1811
mastic cement1815
gauge-stuff1823
Portland cement1824
putty cement1825
rust cement1830
matrix1838
terro-cement1838
rust1839
swish1863
Coaguline1868
albolith1870
dagga1878
mastic1881
tripolith1882
grappier1897
pozzolana cement1905
Ciment Fondu1924
snowcrete1928
soil-cement1936
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 372 Mortar, called gauge-stuff, consists of about three-fifths of fine-stuff and one of Plaster of Paris.
1847 A. C. Smeaton Builder's Pocket Man. (new ed.) 120 Gauge Stuff is chiefly used for mouldings and cornices which are run or formed with a wooden mould.
gauge-weir n. a weir fitted with movable paddles or shutters (as distinguished from a solid weir).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > weir > types of
mill weirlOE
foot weirc1474
kiddle1477
rowte weir1584
catchwater drain1744
carry1753
dam-head1762
overfall1764
gauge-weir1791
shutter weir1880
1791 R. Mylne in Rep. Engineers Commissioners Navigation Thames 53 The Weir near the Lock should be rebuilt with a gauge Weir.
gauge-wheel n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > wheeled plough > wheels
land wheel1742
gauge-wheel1874
wheel-coulter1875
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Gage-wheel, one attached to the forward end of a plow-beam, to gage the depth of furrow.
gauge-work n. = gauged work at gauged adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1906 Daily Chron. 23 Aug. 2/5 Gage-work window headings.
1920 Conquest Apr. 269/2 These slips of steel..are much used in gauge work for building up bars of any desired thickness.
Draft additions January 2005
gauge boson n. Particle Physics a boson that mediates one of the four known fundamental forces and is invariant under a gauge transformation, such as a photon (mediator of the electromagnetic force) or a gluon (mediator of the strong force).
ΚΠ
1970 K. Kikkawa & K. Sato Physics Lett. B. 32 280 In this paper we show how to obtain the gauge boson (photon or weak boson) interactions with the dual resonance system under the assumption of the minimal gauge principle.
1989 A. Leggett in P. Davies New Physics ix. 287/1 The ‘Higgs mechanism’ by which the so-called gauge boson acquires a finite mass..is closely associated with the Meissener effect in superconductors.
2002 F. Close et al. Particle Odyssey ix. 157 Matter is built from quarks and leptons, held together by fundamental forces, which in turn are mediated by particles known collectively as gauge bosons.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
gaugev.1
/ɡeɪdʒ/, U.S. /ɡeɪdʒ/ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > measure or mark off
gaugec1420
dimension1754
to mark off1803
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 208 Too feet deep is good for corn tilage, And doubil that for treen, in depnes gage.
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xi. 79 Or euery tre a stryke of askes gage.
2. † b. to gauge a ship (see quot. 1644). Obsolete.
a. To ascertain by exact measurement the dimensions, proportions, or amount of; applied spec. to the measurement of objects of standard size (e.g. wire, bolts); also to the measurement of fluctuating quantities such as rainfall and intensity of wind. In non-technical use, the commonest application is to the measurement of the depth of a liquid content.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)]
bemetec893
meteOE
mensurec1429
gaugec1440
measure1456
to take a scantling of1585
fathom1611
admetiate1623
quantify1627
span1641
to take (also get) the measure of1650
mensurate1653
to take the gauge of1780
spoil1794
quantitate1900
pace1955
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 189/1 Gawgyn depnesse, dimentior.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cclxix. 399 He gauged ye depnesse of the dyche with a speare.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Aiiv Capys..Wild..to..bore and gage the hollowe caues vncouth.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 427 And when they gaged the forde, they found it vnpossible to wade through.
1618 E. Elton Complaint Sanctified Sinner vii. 156 Continually sounding and gaging the depth of it.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique Water-gage, an Instrument to Gage or Measure the Profundity or Quantity of any Water.
1750 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expositor (at cited word) Gages are used by the Smiths for gageing Bolts, so as to make them of a true and right size.
1781 W. Cowper Charity 139 Who drive a loathsome traffic, gauge and span, And buy the muscles and the bones of man.
1828 T. Carlyle Burns in Edinb. Rev. Dec. 269 We are yet to learn by what arts or instruments the mind could be so measured and gauged.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 347 Wire is gauged, or the diameter of each sort ascertained..by inserting it into a nick filed in the margin of a steel plate containing a gradation of these nicks.
1852 C. Fox Jrnls. 23 Aug. In six weeks..they mean to begin gauging the heavens.
1853 J. Phillips Rivers, Mountains, & Sea-coast Yorks. iii. 44 I have gauged..the river which washes the walls of York, and obtained..the quantity of water in cubic feet per day.
1875 H. R. Proctor in Encycl. Brit. II. 821/2 Gauging the sidereal system on this principle, Sir W. Herschel deduced the inference that it is shaped like a cloven flat disc.
ΚΠ
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. (at cited word) When we would know how much water a ship drawes when she is a-floate we stick a naile into a pike or pole, and so put it downe by the Rudder, till this naile catch hold under the Rudder, and this we call gageing a ship.
3. absolute.1770 O. Goldsmith Deserted Village 210 And even the story ran that he could gauge.
a. To ascertain the capacity or content of (a cask or similar vessel) by combined measurement and calculation (usually performed by the instrument called a gauging-rod n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > measurement of capacity [verb (transitive)] > ascertain the capacity of a cask, etc.
gauge1483
1353 Act 27 Edw. III Stat. i. c. 8 Que tous vins..soient bient & loialment gaugez par le Gaugeour le Roi ou son depute.]
1483 Act 1 Rich. III c. 13 All the Vessels of Wine..shall..be well and truly gauged by the King's Gauger.
1531–2 Act 23 Hen. VIII c. 7 Euery gaugeour within this realme shall truely and effectually..gauge all the said..barrels.
1591 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 155 Whiche wines Ralphe Allen and Richard Broster, Sheriffes..haue seased vpon as forfeited, because they were sold without, and before they were gauged.
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. (at cited word) We are to Gage our Cask, that we may see how great it is, or how much is leaked out; which we doe by putting downe a stick at the Boong, and that, by the wetnesse, will shew how much liquour is in it.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses vii. 30 He would slip into the Cellar, and gage the Casks.
1850 T. Carlyle Latter-day Pamphlets iii. 39 To break his heart among poor mean mortals, gauging beer!
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xix. 483 They would collect the customs, and gauge the beer barrels.
b. humorously.
ΚΠ
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. Av It is for a Poet, to examine the pottle pottes, and gage the bottome of whole gallons.
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood vi. 76 Where boone companions gage the pots apace.
4. figurative; esp. to ‘take the measure’ of (a person, his character, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > evaluation, estimation, appraisal > appraise, estimate [verb (transitive)] > take the measure of
measure?a1425
gauge1583
to sum up1631
measure1684
to touch off1766
to take (also get) the measure of1790
to get (also take, etc.) a person's number1853
reckon1853
to put up1864
size1884
to weigh up1894
to read the room1975
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie clxxxiv. 1143 What are the Judgmentes of God? Euen a deepe gulfe vnpossible to be gaged.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ii. 191 I barre to night, you shall not gage me By what we doe to night. View more context for this quotation
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus i. 2 By these notes gage thy heart.
1716 A. Pope Ess. Homer's Battles in tr. Homer Iliad II. 326 That artful Manner of taking Measure, or (as one may say) Gaging his Heroes by each other.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 114 He who, by Contract, all your Paupers took, And guages Stomachs, with an anxious Look.
1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh II. 61 She, on the contrary, was never able to gauge him.
1880 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea (ed. 4) VI. xi. 414 Can they gauge or record the alleviation of misery effected by care.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. III. lxxxvi. 145 How is he to gauge the voting strength its advocates can put forth?
5.
a. To render conformable to a given standard of measurement or dimensions; also to gauge up. Hence figurative to set bounds to, to limit.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measure [verb (transitive)] > fix the measure or amount of > by a given standard
gauge1600
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) xxxiii. xxiii. 489 I will myselfe limit and gage [L. semodum inpositurum] those things, which fortune, occasion of the times, and necessitie have made excessive and beyond all measure powerfull.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 129 The voiage thither from the foresaid country was gaged within a lesse time.
1653 T. Barker Art of Angling 8 Gage your line, bait your hook.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vi. 105 By these Screws and the Rabbet and Grove your work will be evenly gaged all the way..under the edge of the Iron Q.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. vii. i. 374 The Vanes as nicely gauged on each side as made; broad on one side, and narrower on the other.
1788 Trans. Soc. Arts 6 200 Two steel chaps to guage the Cutter.
1891 C. T. Jacobi Printing vi. 90 When formes are sent to press or machine great care should be exercised in straight-edging after gauging-up the margins.
b. spec. To cut or rub (bricks or stones) accurately to a uniform size.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or constructing with stone > build or construct with stone [verb (transitive)] > cut stone > to uniform size
gauge1748
1748 B. Langley London Prices 130 The Workman must gauge and rub down the Red-Stock Bricks; so, that every 5 Course of them shall come level with every 4 Course of Place-Bricks.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. ii. iii. 519 The stones are guaged and dressed by the hammer.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 225/2 In bricks, they must either be ‘gauged’, that is, rubbed or cut to the shape required, or the difference must be made up by mortar.
6. To mark off or set out (a measurement or measured distance).
ΚΠ
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. v. 79 Gage another line opposite to the first gaged line.
1725 W. Halfpenny Art of Sound Building 33 The Arch HD is drawn by gauging from the Arch GC.
1873 J. Richards On Arrangem. Wood-working Factories 25 A strong line may be stretched about 5 feet from the floor..to gauge the plumb-lines from.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 206/1 The length of the spokes is then guaged.
7. Plastering. To mix (plaster) in the right proportions for drying rapidly or otherwise.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)] > plaster > processes involved in plastering
litter1559
gauge1686
to prick up1779
key1837
stab1846
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. iv. 173 When they seel or parge with it [sc. alabaster], they wet it by degrees, which they call gageing.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 372 When great expedition is required, the plasterers gauge all their mortar with Plaster of Paris.
1897 Laxton's Builders' Price Bk. (ed. 18) 255 When used as concrete it [Portland cement] has been gauged as poor as 10–1—i.e. 1 part of cement to 10 of sand and shingle or ballast.
8. Dressmaking. To draw up in a series of parallel gatherings. (See gauging n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] > gather
frouncea1533
gather1576
full1815
to set in1858
gauge1881
bunch1884
kilt1887
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel xix. 210 Dresses—gaged, and puffed and pleated.
1883 Myra's Jrnl. Dress & Fashion Sept. 418/2 The sleeves..consist of a lace puff, gauged into the shoulder.
1896 Daily News 17 Oct. 6/5 The underbodice is in drawn muslin, gauged at the neck in several rows.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† gaugev.2
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. ? To burst through.
ΚΠ
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries iii. 126 a They feared that the fielde bankes and ditches were not as yet gawged and cut [Fr. ne furent encore percé], by reason they saw not the water come downe.
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries iii. 126 a The messengers..had seene with their owne eyes the gawging and cutting downe of the field bankes or ditches.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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