gadget

Where does the word "gadget" come from? It comes from French gâchette, and was adopted directly into English (1880s).

Gadget’s story begins in French: gâchette meant “catch, trigger.” A lock's catch or a gun trigger, one proposed source; French gagée 'tool' is another, and the origin remains uncertain. It reached English by 1880s as gadget. Said to be sailors' slang for any small fitting whose name they had forgotten, first printed in Robert Brown's Spunyarn and Spindrift (1886); the first atomic bomb, tested in 1945, was code-named 'the Gadget'. Today, gadget means a small mechanical or electronic device.

1. Stage 1 · French · 1400s gâchette "catch, trigger", a lock's catch or a gun trigger, one proposed source; French gagée 'tool' is another, and the origin remains uncertain.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1880s gadget "small device", said to be sailors' slang for any small fitting whose name they had forgotten, first printed in Robert Brown's Spunyarn and Spindrift (1886); the first atomic bomb, tested in 1945, was code-named 'the Gadget'.