gadget [M19th] This word may be from French gâchette ‘a lock mechanism’ or gagée ‘tool’, but the origin of the word is as obscure as the similar gizmo [M20th] or gimmick [E20th], which also had the initial sense of gadget, all being used for ‘thingy’ or some little device with no fixed name, and all of unknown origin. See also widget.