What is "gauge"

Gauge \Gauge\ (g[=a]j), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gauged; p. pr. & vb. n. Gauging] [OF. gaugier, F. jauger, cf. OF. gauge gauge, measuring rod, F. jauge; of uncertain origin; perh. fr. an assumed L. qualificare to determine the qualities of a thing (see Qualify); but cf. also F. jalon a measuring stake in surveying, and E. gallon.] [Written also gage.]

1. To measure or determine with a gauge.

2. To measure or to ascertain the contents or the capacity of, as of a pipe, barrel, or keg.

3. (Mech.) To measure the dimensions of, or to test the accuracy of the form of, as of a part of a gunlock.

   The vanes nicely gauged on each side.
   --Derham.

4. To draw into equidistant gathers by running a thread through it, as cloth or a garment.

5. To measure the capacity, character, or ability of; to estimate; to judge of.

   You shall not gauge me By what we do to-night.
   --Shak.

Gauge \Gauge\, n. [Written also gage.]

1. A measure; a standard of measure; an instrument to determine dimensions, distance, or capacity; a standard.

   This plate must be a gauge to file your worm and groove to equal breadth by.
   --Moxon.

   There is not in our hands any fixed gauge of minds.
   --I. Taylor.

2. Measure; dimensions; estimate.

   The gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt.
   --Burke.

3. (Mach. & Manuf.) Any instrument for ascertaining or regulating the dimensions or forms of things; a templet or template; as, a button maker's gauge.

4. (Physics) Any instrument or apparatus for measuring the state of a phenomenon, or for ascertaining its numerical elements at any moment; -- usually applied to some particular instrument; as, a rain gauge; a steam gauge.

5. (Naut.)

   1. Relative positions of two or more vessels with reference to the wind; as, a vessel has the weather gauge of another when on the windward side of it, and the lee gauge when on the lee side of it.

   2. The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water.
      --Totten.

6. The distance between the rails of a railway.

   Note: The standard gauge of railroads in most countries is four feet, eight and one half inches. Wide, or broad, gauge, in the United States, is six feet; in England, seven feet, and generally any gauge exceeding standard gauge. Any gauge less than standard gauge is now called narrow gauge. It varies from two feet to three feet six inches.

7. (Plastering) The quantity of plaster of Paris used with common plaster to accelerate its setting.

8. (Building) That part of a shingle, slate, or tile, which is exposed to the weather, when laid; also, one course of such shingles, slates, or tiles. Gauge of a carriage, car, etc., the distance between the wheels; -- ordinarily called the track. Gauge cock, a stop cock used as a try cock for ascertaining the height of the water level in a steam boiler. Gauge concussion (Railroads), the jar caused by a car-wheel flange striking the edge of the rail. Gauge glass, a glass tube for a water gauge. Gauge lathe, an automatic lathe for turning a round object having an irregular profile, as a baluster or chair round, to a templet or gauge. Gauge point, the diameter of a cylinder whose altitude is one inch, and contents equal to that of a unit of a given measure; -- a term used in gauging casks, etc. Gauge rod, a graduated rod, for measuring the capacity of barrels, casks, etc. Gauge saw, a handsaw, with a gauge to regulate the depth of cut. --Knight. Gauge stuff, a stiff and compact plaster, used in making cornices, moldings, etc., by means of a templet. Gauge wheel, a wheel at the forward end of a plow beam, to determine the depth of the furrow. Joiner's gauge, an instrument used to strike a line parallel to the straight side of a board, etc. Printer's gauge, an instrument to regulate the length of the page. Rain gauge, an instrument for measuring the quantity of rain at any given place. Salt gauge, or Brine gauge, an instrument or contrivance for indicating the degree of saltness of water from its specific gravity, as in the boilers of ocean steamers. Sea gauge, an instrument for finding the depth of the sea. Siphon gauge, a glass siphon tube, partly filled with mercury, -- used to indicate pressure, as of steam, or the degree of rarefaction produced in the receiver of an air pump or other vacuum; a manometer. Sliding gauge. (Mach.)

   1. A templet or pattern for gauging the commonly accepted dimensions or shape of certain parts in general use, as screws, railway-car axles, etc.

   2. A gauge used only for testing other similar gauges, and preserved as a reference, to detect wear of the working gauges.

   3. (Railroads) See Note under Gauge, n., 5. Star gauge (Ordnance), an instrument for measuring the diameter of the bore of a cannon at any point of its length. Steam gauge, an instrument for measuring the pressure of steam, as in a boiler. Tide gauge, an instrument for determining the height of the tides. Vacuum gauge, a species of barometer for determining the relative elasticities of the vapor in the condenser of a steam engine and the air. Water gauge.

      1. A contrivance for indicating the height of a water surface, as in a steam boiler; as by a gauge cock or glass.

      2. The height of the water in the boiler.

         Wind gauge, an instrument for measuring the force of the wind on any given surface; an anemometer.

         Wire gauge, a gauge for determining the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal; also, a standard of size. See under Wire.

"ascertain by exact measurements," mid-15c., from Anglo-French gauge (mid-14c.), from Old North French gauger (Old French jauger), from gauge "gauging rod," perhaps from Frankish *galgo "rod, pole for measuring" or another Germanic source (compare Old Norse gelgja "pole, perch," Old High German galgo; see gallows). Related: Gauged; gauging. The figurative use is from 1580s. "The spelling variants gauge and gage have existed since the first recorded uses in Middle English, though in American English gage is found exclusively in technical uses" [Barnhart].

"fixed standard of measure," early 15c. (surname Gageman is early 14c.), from Old North French gauge "gauging rod" (see gauge (v.)). Meaning "instrument for measuring" is from 1680s.

n. 1 A measure; a standard of measure; an instrument to determine dimensions, distance, or capacity; a standard 2 An act of measuring. 3 Any instrument for ascertaining or regulating the level, state, dimensions or forms of things; as, a rain gauge; a steam gauge. 4 A thickness of sheet metal or wire designated by any of several numbering schemes. 5 (context rail transport English) The distance between the rails of a railway. 6 (context mathematics analysis English) A semi-norm; a function that assigns a non-negative size to all vectors in a vector space. 7 (context knitting English) The number of stitches per inch, centimetre, or other unit of distance. 8 (cx nautical English) Relative positions of two or more vessels with reference to the wind. 9 (cx nautical English) The depth to which a vessel sinks in the water. 10 (cx plastering English) The quantity of plaster of Paris used with common plaster to make it set more quickly. 11 That part of a shingle, slate, or tile, which is exposed to the weather, when laid; also, one course of such shingles, slates, or tiles. vb. 1 (context transitive English) To measure or determine with a gauge; to measure the capacity of. 2 (context transitive English) To estimate. 3 (context transitive English) To appraise the character or ability of; to judge of. 4 (context textile transitive English) To draw into equidistant gathers by running a thread through it. 5 (context transitive English) To mix (a quantity of ordinary plaster) with a quantity of plaster of Paris. 6 (context transitive English) To chip, hew or polish (stones, bricks, etc) to a standard size and/or shape.

1. n. a measuring instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity such as the thickness of wire or the amount of rain etc. [syn: gage]

2. accepted or approved instance or example of a quantity or quality against which others are judged or measured or compared [syn: standard of measurement]

3. the distance between the rails of a railway or between the wheels of a train

4. the thickness of wire

5. diameter of a tube or gun barrel [syn: bore, caliber, calibre]

6. v. judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time); "I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds" [syn: estimate, approximate, guess, judge]

7. rub to a uniform size; "gauge bricks"

8. determine the capacity, volume, or contents of by measurement and calculation; "gauge the wine barrels"

9. measure precisely and against a standard; "the wire is gauged"

10. adapt to a specified measurement; "gauge the instruments"

11. mix in specific proportions; "gauge plaster"

The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound, e.g., a one-twelfth pound ball fits a 12-gauge bore. Thus there are twelve 12-gauge balls per pound, etc. The term is related to the measurement of cannon, which were also measured by the weight of their iron round shot; an 8 pounder would fire an 8 lb (3.6 kg) ball.

Gauge is commonly used today in reference to shotguns, though historically it was also used in large double rifles, which were made in sizes up to 2 bore during their heyday in the 1880s, being originally loaded with black powder cartridges. These very large rifles, sometimes called elephant guns, were intended for use in India and Africa for hunting dangerous game.

Gauge is abbreviated "ga.", "ga", or "G". The space between the number and the abbreviation is often left out, as in "12ga".

In knitting, the word gauge is used both in hand knitting and machine knitting; the latter, technical abbreviation GG, refers to "Knitting Machines" fineness size. In both cases, the term refers to the number of stitches per inch, not the size of the finished garment. In both cases, the gauge is measured by counting the number of stitches (in hand knitting) or the number of needles (on a knitting machine bed) over several inches then dividing by the number of inches in the width of the sample.

Gauge was an American post-hardcore band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.

Gauge (US , UK or ) may refer to:

Gauge (born July 24, 1980) is the stage name of an American pornographic actress and featured dancer.

A gauge or gage, in science and engineering, is a device used to make measurements or in order to display certain information, like time. A wide variety of tools exist which serve such functions, ranging from simple pieces of material against which sizes can be measured to complex pieces of machinery. Depending on usage, a gauge can be described as "a device for measuring a physical quantity", for example "to determine thickness, gap in space, diameter of materials, or pressure of flow", or "a device that displays the measurement of a monitored system by the use of a needle or pointer that moves along a calibrated scale".

Gauge is a light weight cross-platform test automation tool. It provides the ability to author test cases in the business language. It has an extremely modular plugin supported architecture, which make it very flexible and scalable. It uses Behavior Driven Development (BDD) and Test-driven development (TDD) for functional testing of the application.

Some of its key features include:

• A rich markup based on markdown
• Support for writing test code in any programming language.
• A modular architecture with plugin support.
• Consistency across language implementations.

The currently supported languages for test code in gauge are:

• Java
• Ruby
• C#
• Javascript
• Python

Category:Software testing tools