widget
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widget¹
- /ˈwɪd͡ʒ.ɪt/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪdʒɪt
Where it comes from
Coined by American playwright George S. Kaufman in 1924 in his play Beggar on Horseback (1924). The preface to the 1924 play credits an earlier German work from 1911 where there is an actor Elisabeth Wigge.
noun widgets
-
A placeholder name for an unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product, typically as an example for purposes of explaining concepts.
Suppose we have a widget factory that produces 100 units per year...
Similar: thingy, gizmo, sprocket, Sorted by number of Google hits, widget, hickey, gimmick, thingie, jigger, gismo, gubbins, whatsit
- A floating device inside a beer can, meant to create foam when opened.
-
A small scraping tool consisting of a blade and a handle, commonly used to remove paint from glass and other smooth surfaces.
Similar: scraper
- Synonym of tool, implement, device, gadget, part.
widget²
- /ˈwɪd͡ʒ.ɪt/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɪdʒɪt
Where it comes from
Blend of window + gadget.
noun widgets
-
Any one of the components of a computer application's graphical user interface, such as a Cancel button or text input box that a user interacts with.
Similar: control
- A small applet that can be placed on the desktop or in a sidebar, etc. This weather widget shows the current temperature.
Translations
Every language
noun unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product
| Français | babiole, camelote |
|---|---|
| Italiano | aggeggio |
| Ελληνικά | μαραφέτι maraféti |
noun component of a graphical user interface that the user interacts with
| Español | widget |
|---|---|
| Français | widget |
| Deutsch | Steuerelement, Widget |
| Ελληνικά | γραφικό στοιχείο grafikó stoicheío |
| Русский | ви́джет vídžet |
noun on-screen applet
| Français | widget |
|---|
Talk about this word "widget." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/widget. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. widget. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/widget "widget." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/widget.Cite this
@misc{widget_2026,
title = {widget},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/widget},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
