The Origin of the Word ‘Gadget’

A gadget is any ingenious invention or merely a physical device. Gadgets can be called gadgets. There is no such thing as the first gadget, but there are many theories on when and how the first one was made. Some say that man invented the gadget. Gadgets come in all shapes and sizes, but what ever you consider to be a gadget is actually considered a gizmo by some people.

GADGET

The first gadget to be manufactured was invented by the Chinese as a wind-up mechanism for fishing rods. Another very famous and earliest example of a gadget that was used by man to create something to facilitate his work was the gizmo called the electric motor. Before these two examples, man had no way to produce energy for his day-to-day activities. He had to rely on other sources like wood or coal, and even to prop up his standard, primitive, agricultural life. In order to make things easier, a man came up with the idea of inventing the gadget, so that he may be able to carry out his usual daily tasks.

The word gadget comes from the Latin gis “a figure or contrivance, in music”. The term was borrowed from the Greek gaseous, meaning “air, gas or vapor”. GADGET therefore means “air-conditioned, air-powered, gas”. It is believed that the first invented gadget was the electric chord. This cord was used in music stores to power musical instruments. From that time on, all kinds of air-conditioned appliances, like TVs, radios, blaring radios, ovens, hair dryers, and even clothes dryers came into existence.

Today, we can see gizmo all over us, from TV to MP3 players, from microwave to coffee maker, from inside the computer to fridge. GADGET can also refer to certain gizmos or gadgets. It can be applied to any apparatus which is used for personal or commercial purposes. It is very popular today because the word gadget evokes curiosity among people and they naturally want to know more about the gadget. It is interesting to note that among all the words in the English language, “gadget” is the only one which originates from the Latin language.

Gadgets have become part of our everyday lives, be it at work or at home. We use them to keep our homes organized, to carry out minor household chores, to communicate with our friends or to entertain ourselves. We use them to avoid fatigue and from tiring. To most people, it is extremely difficult to go a day without using some form of gadget or gizmo. This is why the demand for a wide variety of such gadgets is extremely high. It has been estimated that within the next decade, there will be hundreds of thousands of different types of gadgets being sold on the market.

As of today, gizmo is no longer simply a synonym for gadget or gizmo. It is a general term denoting any small electronic apparatus used for the purpose of entertainment, communication or information dissemination. There are numerous manufacturers who specialize in making and producing small electronic devices of various uses. Gadgets of every type are now being sold in the market and they are gaining tremendous popularity amongst the masses. Thus we can safely predict that the use of the gadget in the future will continue to increase unabated.