Gauge

Gauge is another form of Gage which are vocabulary words meaning “to ascertain by exact measurements”. Both spelling variants have been used somewhat interchangeably since their first recorded existence dating back to Middle English. The words come from the Old French “jauger” which defined a rod or a pole used for measuring. The word is also connected with the Germanic “galgo” which gave us the modern “gallows” – a structure defined by a wooden frame (two upright posts plus a “pole” or crossbeam) to which a noose was attached. Those going to the gallows were in essence going to their execution. By the mid-1400s, gauge came to be used more exclusively as a device for measurements which is how we understand the word today. Gage eventually turned into a surname originating from an occupational name. A “gage man” was a man who either was in charge of checking weights or measurement, or he was moneylender/ surety against lent money (as in a mort-“gage”). The surname dates back to the 14th century in England, but as a forename, Gage is a modern, more American invention. Gauge and Gaige followed in popularity as alternate spellings.