▪ I. gauge, gage, n.
(geɪdʒ)
Forms: 5–7 gawge, (6 Sc. gadge), 8–9 guage, 5– gage, gauge.
[a. ONF. gauge (Central OF. and mod.F. jauge), of unknown origin; wanting in the other Rom. langs.
The OFr. word is found, along with the related vb. gauger, in the 13th c.; the earliest sense appears to be ‘action or result of measuring’, the sense ‘instrument of measurement’ being prob. derivative; the n. is perh. f. the vb. Possibly there may be ultimate connexion with jale bowl, galon gallon (so Littré), or with jalon stake to measure from (so Scheler). Horning's conjecture that the word represents Teut. *galgon- (see gallows n.) in its assumed primary sense of ‘rod’ is not very satisfactory from the Teut. point of view; derivation from L. *æquālificāre or quālificāre (Diez) is impossible.
The spelling gauge prevails in this country, except in sense 5. The more normal gage has been adopted in recent American Dicts. The form guage is a mere blunder.]
I. 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.
| [1357 Act 30 Edw. III, Stat. i. c. 5 Les tonelx de vin duissent contenir certein nombre des galons solonc launciene gauge.] c 1450 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 Hollyband Treas. Fr. 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 Penkethman Artach. D, From which weight is derived or drawne the Assise and Gawge of all manner of wet and dry measures. 1677 Marvell Let. to Mayor of Hull Wks. I. 315 The gager shall always leave with the Brewer a note of his gage. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §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 Greener Gunnery 137 A bullet of 50-gauge exceeding in range one of 25-gauge. 1871 Yeats Techn. Hist. Comm. 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. transf. and
fig. Capacity, extent; dimensions, proportions. Chiefly in phrase
to take the gauge of.
| 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. vi. ii. 291 He needed to be a good Mathematician in the gages of mens bellies..proportioning it to their severall ages, labour..appetites, &c. 1780 Burke Sp. Bristol 25 He [Howard] has visited all Europe..to take the gage and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt. 1835 Lytton Rienzi i. iv, Rienzi sat at the feast..taking gauge and measurement of the intellect, policy, temperament, of every guest. 1860 Holland Miss Gilbert xviii. (1880) 219 The old man looked up and around, apparently taking the gauge of the structure. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 219 His intellect..was much above the low gauge which people used to assign to it. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. I. viii. 157 The broadening of gauge in crinolines seemed to demand an agitation. |
c. Physics. [
tr. G.
ma{eszett}stab (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 funcion; 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. Freq.
attrib.| 1920 A. S. Eddington Space, Time & Gravit. 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. Ibid. 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 ― Math. Theory of 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→Ue{supi}α U*→U*e—{supi}α 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. Ibid. xiii. 405 Quantities and relations that do not change under gauge transformation are called gauge invariants. |
† 2. A limit of distance or extent. Also
fig. Obs.| 1600 Holland Livy iii. lxvii. (1609) 134 Neither we have any gage or stay of rule and command, nor [etc.]. 1601 ― Pliny 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 ― Sueton. 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,
narrow gauge.
| 1841 S. C. Brees Gloss. Civ. Engin., Gauge of Way (as applied to railways), the width in the clear between the top flanches or rounded rims of the rails. 1846 McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 57 The distance between the opposite rails, or width of gauge, which, of course, determines the width of the carriage. 1860 O. W. Holmes Prof. Breakf.-t. v. (Paterson) 107 The engine-driver of our broad-gauge mail train. 1862 Smiles 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 Midl. Railw. 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. techn. a. The length of projection of a slate or tile beyond that which overlaps it. Now also called the
margin.
b. (See
quot. 1847.)
| 1703 T. N. City & C. Purchaser 274 At 6 Inches Gage, about 800..Tyles will cover a Sprare; at 7 Inch Gage, 690. 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc., Gage, or Gauge, the length of a slate or tile below the lap. 1847–78 Halliwell, Gage, a measure of slate, one yard square, about a ton in weight. 1851 Laxton Builder's Price Bk. 38 Pantiling per square. Laid dry, to a 10-inch gauge. |
5. Naut. (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
fig. to get the better of. Subsequently also in
lee gage (see
quots. 1644, 1794).
| 1591 Raleigh Last Fight Rev. (Arb.) 26 The rest..entred as far as the place permitted and their own necessities, to keep the weather gage of the enemy. 1644 H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict. s.v., 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 Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. 78, Weather Gage, is when one Ship has the Wind (or is to Weather) of another. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. II. 57 They tacked, when at about two leagues distance, in order to gain the weather gage. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship II. 253 *Lee-gage, a ship or fleet to leeward of another is said to have the lee-gage. 1795 Nelson in Nicolas Disp. (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. 1818 Jas. Mill 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 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Lee-guage. |
b. The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water with a full cargo.
| 1644 H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict. s.v., So many foote as she drawes, is called the ships gage. 1800 [see Gauge-mark in 15]. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |
6. Plastering. (See
quots.)
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc., Gage, or Gauge,..the greater or less quantity of plaster of Paris used with the common plaster to accelerate its setting. 1849 Weale Dict. Archit., 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. a. A gauging-rod.
b. (See
quot. c 1780.)
Obs.| a. 1530 Palsgr. 224/2 Gauge to measure wyne with, gauge. 1611 Cotgr., Iauge, a Gage; the instrument wherewith caske is measured. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Gage, a Rod to measure Casks with. |
| b. 1635 in Nicholls Forest Dean (1858) 276 Implemnts..1 tuiron plate, 1 plackett, 1 gadge. c 1780 Wyrrall Ibid. 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, etc.
| 1688 Burnet Lett. Pres. State 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 Commerc. Philos. Techn. 286 A smiths bellows raised a mercurial gage about an inch so that it would have raised a water-gage about fourteen inches. 1830 Sir J. Ross Narr. 2nd Voy. xxxv. (1835) 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. 1851–9 Herschel in Man. Sci. Enq. 135 One inch in depth of rain in the gauge will be measured by 100 inches of the graduated vessel. 1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sc. (1879) I. iv. 115 They were followed by about three inches (measured by the mercurial gauge) of air. 1880 Haughton Phys. Geog. ii. 31 The sea⁓waves were recorded on the self-registering tide gauges. |
| fig. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Lit. Wks. (Bohn) II. 110 [Bacon]..basked in an element of contemplation out of all modern English atmospheric 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.
| 1794 G. Adams Nat. Exp. Philos. I. xi. 47 A cyphon-gage which is occasionally substituted for the barometer-gage. 1824 R. Stuart Hist. Steam Engine 204 This temperature..was ascertained by the common means of a gauge placed on the boiler. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. 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 Eng. 125 Each boiler having its feed pipe, gauges, and blow-off pipes as before. 1876 R. Routledge Discov. 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.
| 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 32 This plate, must be a gage to file your Worm and Groove to equal breadth by. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iii. i, Timothy..proposed to his mistress, that she should entertain no servant that was above four feet seven inches high; and for that purpose he prepared a gauge, by which they were to be measured. 1750 T. R. Blanckley Nav. Expos. s.v., Gages are used by the Smiths for gageing Bolts, so as to make them of a true and right size. 1812–16 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 29 It is much easier to file correctly with the assistance of a guage than a pair of callipers. 1832 G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 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. Civ. Engin. s.v., 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 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: one for marking parallel lines for mortice-cutting.
| 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 90 Of the Gage..Its Office is to Gage a Line parallel to any straight side. 1751 Chambers Cycl., Gage, in joinery..is made of an oval piece of wood, fitted upon a square stick, to slide up and down stifly thereon [etc.]. 1842–59 Gwilt Archit. (ed. 4) §2120 The gauge is an instrument used for drawing or making 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.
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.
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 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. 1841 Savage Dict. Print. s.v., 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 Print. Trades Jrnl. No. 30. 13 There is a guage both at back and side to ensure absolute uniformity in folding. 1891 Jacobi Printing v. 69 The length of a page having been determined, a gauge should be made to the size. |
13. A contrivance to limit or regulate the penetration of a cutting tool.
(? Always used in comb. 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. fig. A means of estimating or determining, a test.
| 1691 Locke Consid. Lower. Interest Wks. 1714 II. 31 If Money were..to be had from the Owner himself,..it might then probably be had at the Market Rate, and that Rate of Interest would be a constant gauge of your Trade and Wealth. 1728 Young Love Fame iii. Wks. (1757) 102 Another judges by a surer gage, An author's principles, or parentage. 1842 Emerson Lect., Transcendent. Wks. (Bohn) II. 292 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 Academ. Org. iv. 71 The impracticability of any equitable gauge of property, either by testimonial or by enquiry, has been felt. 1884 Century Mag. July 430 The gauge of a pensioner's disability is always his unfitness to do manual work. |
III. 15. attrib. and
Comb., as (sense 5 b)
gauge-mark; (sense 1)
gauge-ring;
gauge-book, ? a book on star-gauging;
gauge box,
brick (see
quots.);
gauge-cock (see
quot. 1849);
gauge-concussion, ‘the lateral rocking of railway carriages against the rails’ (Ogilvie);
gauge-door (see
quot.);
gauge-field Astr., a restricted area of the sky photographed for the purpose of gauging the number and density of the stars in that region;
gauge-frame, (
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.;
gauge function Math. (see
quot. 1965);
gauge-glass, a strong glass tube attached to a boiler to indicate the height or agitation of the water in it;
gauge-knife, a knife with some contrivance for regulating the amount cut off;
gauge-ladder,
-lamp (see
quots.);
gauge-lathe, a lathe for turning work to pattern or size, the depth of cut being regulated by a gauge or stop;
gauge-paddle, a paddle or shutter used in a gauge-weir;
† gauge penny, a gauger's fee or perquisite;
gauge-pile,
-pin (see
quots.);
† gauge pipe (
cf. gauge-cock);
gauge-plate (see
quot.);
gauge-point, 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;
gauge-rod,
-saw,
-stuff (see
quots.);
gauge-weir, a weir fitted with movable paddles or shutters (as distinguished from a solid weir);
gauge-wheel (see
quot.);
gauge-work = gauged work (see
gauged ppl. a. 2).
| 1872 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. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Gage-box for Shingles, a box of a certain size in which shingles are laid to form bunches of a certain number. |
| 1880 Jefferies Gt. 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. |
| 1824 R. Stuart 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 Weale Dict. Archit., 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. |
| 1883 Gresley Gloss. 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. |
| 1891 Smithsonian Inst. Rep. 107 A photographic *gauge-field on a small scale. |
| 1791 R. Mylne Rep. Thames & Isis 55 If weirs were raised with *gauge-frames, the Water could be penned over all the shoals. |
| 1937 J. von Neumann Coll. Wks. (1962) IV. 208 A familiar symmetric *gauge function is ϕp(u1,..un = {obigpren}{Summ}ni= 1 {vb}ui{vb}p{cbigpren}1/p for 1 {slle} p 0 when u ≠ 0, ϕ(αu) = {vb}α{vb}ϕ(u) for complex α, ϕ(u + v) {slle} ϕ(u) + ϕ(v). |
| 1849 Weale Dict. Archit., *Gauge-glass, in locomotive engines, a strong glass tube, connected with the boiler by two cocks attached to the gauge-cock pedestal. |
| 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. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Gage-ladder, a square timber frame for raising the ends of wheeling planks in excavating. A horsing-block. |
| 1849 Weale Dict. Archit., *Gauge-lamp, in locomotive engines, a small lamp placed beside the gauge-glass at night. |
| 1800 Hull Pilot. Act 22 Two *guage marks to be made and fixed on the stem and stern. |
| 1795 J. Phillips Hist. Ireland Navig. Add. 66 Not to pass any lock unless the water flows over the waste wire or *gauge paddle. |
| 1444 Act 23 Hen. VI, c. 15 Le Roi ad ordeigne..que le denier que est appelle le *gauge peny ne soit paie a le Gaugeor ne a ascun autre en son noune, tanque il ou son deputee eit gauge lez vinez. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Gage-pile (Pile-driving), a preliminary pile to mark the desired course. |
| 1891 Jacobi Printing 285 *Gauge pins, small steel pins with teeth, for securing the lay on small platen machines. |
| 1702 Savery Miner's Friend 25 The design of a Servant to do Mischief..is easily discovered by those *Guage Pipes. |
| 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. |
| 1721 Bailey, *Gauge Point of Solid Measure, is the Diameter of a Circle whose Area is equal to the solid Content of the same Measure. 1807 Hutton Course Math. II. 82 On it are marked WG at 17.15, and AG at 18.95, the wine and ale gage points. 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc., 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. 1793 *Gauge ring [see sense 1 above]. |
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Gauge-rod, a rod of iron from 1/4 in. to ½ in. in diameter, and used for measuring the internal diameters of portions of work in cases where great accuracy is essential. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Gage-saw, a saw having an adjustable frame or clamp, which determines the depth of kerf. |
| 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 372 Mortar, called *gauge-stuff, consists of about three-fifths of fine-stuff and one of Plaster of Paris. 1847 A. Smeaton Build. Man. 120 Gauge Stuff is chiefly used for mouldings and cornices which are run or formed with a wooden mould. |
| 1791 R. Mylne Rep. Thames & Isis 53 The Weir near the Lock should be rebuilt with a *gauge Weir. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Gage-wheel, one attached to the forward end of a plow-beam, to gage the depth of furrow. |
| 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. |
▸
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).
| 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. 1989A. 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. |
▪ II. gauge, gage, v.1 (
geɪdʒ)
[a. ONF. gauger (Central F. jauger), related to gauge: see prec.] † 1. trans. To measure or measure off (a length or quantity).
Obs. rare.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 208 Too feet deep is good for corn tilage, And doubil that for treen, in depnes gage. Ibid. xi. 79 Or euery tre a stryke of askes gage. |
2. 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.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 189/1 Gawgyn depnesse, dimentior. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxix. 399 He gauged y⊇ depnesse of the dyche with a speare. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 52 Capys..Will'd..to..bore and gage the hollow caues uncouth. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1676) 331 And when they gaged the foord, they found it impossible to wade through. 1618 E. Elton Compl. Sanct. Sinner (1622) 156 Continually sounding and gaging the depth of it. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict., Water-gage, an Instrument to Gage or Measure the Profundity or Quantity of any Water. 1750 [see gauge n. 10]. 1781 Cowper Charity 139 Who drive a loathsome traffic, gauge and span, And buy the muscles and the bones of man. 1828 Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 196 We are yet to learn by what arts or instruments the mind could be so measured and gauged. 1833 J. Holland Manuf. Metal III. 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 Miss Fox Jrnls. 23 Aug., In six weeks..they mean to begin gauging the heavens. 1853 Phillips Rivers 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 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. |
† b. to gauge a ship (see
quot.).
Obs.| 1644 H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict. s.v., 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. 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).
| [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 Child Marriages (E.E.T.S.) 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. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict. s.v., 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 Arbuthnot John Bull iii. vii, He would slip into the cellar, and gauge the casks. 1850 Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. iii. (1872) 101 To break his heart among poor mean mortals, gauging beer! 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xix. IV. 483 They would collect the customs, and gauge the beer barrels. |
| absol. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 210 And even the story ran that he could gauge. |
b. humorously.
| 1589 Nashe Ded. to Greene's Menaphon (Arb.) 15 It is for a Poet, to examine the pottle pottes, and gage the bottome of whole gallons. 1600 Rowlands Lett. Humours Blood vi. 76 Where boone companions gage the pots apace. |
4. fig.;
esp. to ‘take the measure’ of (a person, his character, etc.).
| 1583 Golding Calvin on Deut. clxxxiv. 1143 What are the Judgmentes of God? Euen a deepe gulfe vnpossible to be gaged. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 208, I barre to night, you shall not gage me By what we doe to night. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 2 By these notes gage thy heart. 1716 Pope Ess. Homer's Battles in Iliad II. 326 That artful Manner of taking Measure or (as one may say) Gaging his Heroes by each other. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. iii. 480 He who, by contract, all your paupers took, And gauges stomachs with an anxious look. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. II. 61 She, on the contrary, was never able to gauge him. 1880 Kinglake Crimea VI. xi. 414 Can they gauge or record the alleviation of misery effected by care. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. III. lxxxvi. 145 How is he to gauge the voting strength its advocates can put forth? |
5. To render conformable to a given standard of measurement or dimensions; also
to gauge up. Hence
fig. to set bounds to, to limit.
| 1600 Holland Livy xxxiii. xxiii. (1609) 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 ― Pliny I. 129 The voiage thither from the foresaid country was gaged within a lesse time. 1651–3 J. Barker Art of Angling 8 Gage your line, bait your hook. 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 105 By these Screws, and the Rabbet and Groove, your work will be evenly gaged all the way..under the edge of the Iron Q. 1713 Derham Phys. Theol. vii. i. (1727) 335 The Vanes as nicely gaug'd on each Side as made; broad on one Side, and narrower on the other. 1788 Trans. Soc. Arts VI. 200 Two steel chaps to guage the Cutter. 1891 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.
| 1750 Langley Lond. Prices 130 in Dict. Archit. (1848–52) s.v., The workman must gauge and rub down the red-stock bricks, so that every five courses of them shall come level with every four courses of place-bricks. 1842–59 Gwilt Archit. (ed. 4) §1917 The stones are guaged and dressed by the hammer. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. 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).
| 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. I. 79 Gage another line opposite to the first gaged line. 1725 W. Halfpenny Sound Building 33 The Arch HD is drawn by gauging from the Arch GC. 1873 J. Richards 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. Educ. 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.
| 1686 Plot Staffordsh. 173 When they seel or parge with it [alabaster], they wet it by degrees, which they call gageing. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 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 vbl. n.)
| 1881 M. E. Braddon Asph. xix. 210 Dresses—gaged, and puffed and pleated. 1883 Myra's Jrnl. Aug., 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. |
▪ III. † gauge, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
[? Cf. OF. jaugier to break in (a door).] trans. ? To burst through.
| 1583 T. Stocker tr. Civ. Wars Low C. iii. 126 a, They feared that the fielde bankes and ditches were not as yet gawged and cut [orig. F. ne furent encore percé], by reason they saw not the water come downe. Ibid., The messengers..had seene with their owne eyes the gawging and cutting downe of the field bankes or ditches. |