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