You talk about gadgets, you spend thousands of dollars on them, and proudly call yourself a Gadget Freak. But where did the word “gadget” come from?

Well it depends on who you ask. Some people say the word was first coined with one of the country’s biggest and most famous gadgets of all: The Statue of Liberty. Made by the company Gaget, Gauthier & Cie, who produced a miniature version and nicknamed it “Gadget” after their own company. Other experts trace it back to the French  “gâchette” which refers to a firing mechanism used by sailors. Others turn to another French term, “gage”, which means a tiny tool or accessory. The Scots make another claim: gadget, for them, is derived from an engineering jargon “gadge”, which refers to something that measures.