GAUGE

gauge, gage

(noun) a measuring instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity such as the thickness of wire or the amount of rain etc.

bore, gauge, caliber, calibre

(noun) diameter of a tube or gun barrel

gauge

(noun) the thickness of wire

gauge

(noun) the distance between the rails of a railway or between the wheels of a train

gauge, standard of measurement

(noun) accepted or approved instance or example of a quantity or quality against which others are judged or measured or compared

gauge

(verb) mix in specific proportions; “gauge plaster”

gauge

(verb) adapt to a specified measurement; “gauge the instruments”

gauge

(verb) measure precisely and against a standard; “the wire is gauged”

estimate, gauge, approximate, guess, judge

(verb) judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); “I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds”

gauge

(verb) determine the capacity, volume, or contents of by measurement and calculation; “gauge the wine barrels”

gauge

(verb) rub to a uniform size; “gauge bricks”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

gauge (plural gauges)

A measure; a standard of measure; an instrument to determine dimensions, distance, or capacity; a standard

An act of measuring.

An estimate.

Any instrument for ascertaining or regulating the level, state, dimensions or forms of things

A thickness of sheet metal or wire designated by any of several numbering schemes.

(rail transport) The distance between the rails of a railway.

(mathematics, analysis) A semi-norm; a function that assigns a non-negative size to all vectors in a vector space.

(knitting) The number of stitches per inch, centimetre, or other unit of distance.

(nautical) Relative positions of two or more vessels with reference to the wind.

(nautical) The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water.

(plastering) The quantity of plaster of Paris used with common plaster to make it set more quickly.

That part of a shingle, slate, or tile, which is exposed to the weather, when laid; also, one course of such shingles, slates, or tiles.

(firearms) A unit of measurement which describes how many spheres of bore diameter of a shotgun can be had from one pound of lead; 12 gauge is roughly equivalent to .75 caliber.

(US, slang, by extension) A shotgun (synecdoche for 12 gauge shotgun, the most common chambering for combat and hunting shotguns).

A tunnel-like ear piercing consisting of a hollow ring embedded in the lobe.

Verb

gauge (third-person singular simple present gauges, present participle gauging, simple past and past participle gauged)

(transitive) To measure or determine with a gauge; to measure the capacity of.

(transitive) To estimate.

(transitive) To appraise the character or ability of; to judge of.

(textile, transitive) To draw into equidistant gathers by running a thread through it.

(transitive) To mix (a quantity of ordinary plaster) with a quantity of plaster of Paris.

(transitive) To chip, hew or polish (stones, bricks, etc) to a standard size and/or shape.

Etymology

Proper noun

Gauge

A male given name

Source: Wiktionary


Gauge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gauged; p. pr. & vb. n. Gauging] Etym: [OF. gaugier, F. jauger, cf. OF. gauge gauge, measuring rod, F. jauge; of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an assumed L. qualificare to determine the qualities of a thing (see Qualify); but cf. also F. jalon a measuring stake in surveying, and E. gallon.] [Written also gage.]

1. To measure or determine with a gauge.

2. To measure or to ascertain the contents or the capacity of, as of a pipe, barrel, or keg.

3. (Mech.)

Definition: To measure the dimensions of, or to test the accuracy of the form of, as of a part of a gunlock. The vanes nicely gauged on each side. Derham.

4. To draw into equidistant gathers by running a thread through it, as cloth or a garment.

5. To measure the capacity, character, or ability of; to estimate; to judge of. You shall not gauge me By what we do to-night. Shak.

Gauge, n. Etym: [Written also gage.]

1. A measure; a standard of measure; an instrument to determine dimensions, distance, or capacity; a standard. This plate must be a gauge to file your worm and groove to equal breadth by. Moxon. There is not in our hands any fixed gauge of minds. I. Taylor.

2. Measure; dimensions; estimate. The gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt. Burke.

3. (Mach. & Manuf.)

Definition: Any instrument for ascertaining or regulating the dimensions or forms of things; a templet or template; as, a button maker's gauge.

4. (Physics)

Definition: Any instrument or apparatus for measuring the state of a phenomenon, or for ascertaining its numerical elements at any moment;

– usually applied to some particular instrument; as, a rain gauge; a steam gauge.

5. (Naut.) (a) Relative positions of two or more vessels with reference to the wind; as, a vessel has the weather gauge of another when on the windward side of it, and the lee gauge when on the lee side of it. (b) The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water. Totten.

6. The distance between the rails of a railway.

Note: The standard gauge of railroads in most countries is four feet, eight and one half inches. Wide, or broad, gauge, in the United States, is six feet; in England, seven feet, and generally any gauge exceeding standard gauge. Any gauge less than standard gauge is now called narrow gauge. It varies from two feet to three feet six inches.

7. (Plastering)

Definition: The quantity of plaster of Paris used with common plaster to accelerate its setting.

8. (Building)

Definition: That part of a shingle, slate, or tile, which is exposed to the weather, when laid; also, one course of such shingles, slates, or tiles. Gauge of a carriage, car, etc., the distance between the wheels; -- ordinarily called the track.

– Gauge cock, a stop cock used as a try cock for ascertaining the height of the water level in a steam boiler.

– Gauge concussion (Railroads), the jar caused by a car-wheel flange striking the edge of the rail.

– Gauge glass, a glass tube for a water gauge.

– Gauge lathe, an automatic lathe for turning a round object having an irregular profile, as a baluster or chair round, to a templet or gauge.

– Gauge point, the diameter of a cylinder whose altitude is one inch, and contents equal to that of a unit of a given measure; -- a term used in gauging casks, etc.

– Gauge rod, a graduated rod, for measuring the capacity of barrels, casks, etc.

– Gauge saw, a handsaw, with a gauge to regulate the depth of cut. Knight.

– Gauge stuff, a stiff and compact plaster, used in making cornices, moldings, etc., by means of a templet.

– Gauge wheel, a wheel at the forward end of a plow beam, to determine the depth of the furrow.

– Joiner's gauge, an instrument used to strike a line parallel to the straight side of a board, etc.

– Printer's gauge, an instrument to regulate the length of the page.

– Rain gauge, an instrument for measuring the quantity of rain at any given place.

– Salt gauge, or Brine gauge, an instrument or contrivance for indicating the degree of saltness of water from its specific gravity, as in the boilers of ocean steamers.

– Sea gauge, an instrument for finding the depth of the sea.

– Siphon gauge, a glass siphon tube, partly filled with mercury, -- used to indicate pressure, as of steam, or the degree of rarefaction produced in the receiver of an air pump or other vacuum; a manometer.

– Sliding gauge. (Mach.) (a) A templet or pattern for gauging the commonly accepted dimensions or shape of certain parts in general use, as screws, railway-car axles, etc. (b) A gauge used only for testing other similar gauges, and preserved as a reference, to detect wear of the working gauges. (c) (Railroads) See Note under Gauge, n., 5.

– Star gauge (Ordnance), an instrument for measuring the diameter of the bore of a cannon at any point of its length.

– Steam gauge, an instrument for measuring the pressure of steam, as in a boiler.

– Tide gauge, an instrument for determining the height of the tides.

– Vacuum gauge, a species of barometer for determining the relative elasticities of the vapor in the condenser of a steam engine and the air.

– Water gauge. (a) A contrivance for indicating the height of a water surface, as in a steam boiler; as by a gauge cock or glass. (b) The height of the water in the boiler.

– Wind gauge, an instrument for measuring the force of the wind on any given surface; an anemometer.

– Wire gauge, a gauge for determining the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal; also, a standard of size. See under Wire.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 November 2024

THEORETICAL

(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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