Merriam-Webster's Word Central

June 15, 2011

gizmo (noun): \GHIZ-moh\
What does it mean?: : an interesting, unfamiliar, or unusual device : gadget
How do you use it?: The toy was a strange little gizmo covered in tiny lights that changed color when you touched them.
Are you a word wiz?: When do you think "gizmo" first made its appearance in the English language?

A. in the early 2000s, when the first portable MP3 players were becoming popular

B. in the mid-1900s, when a device called a television set was gaining in use

C. in the late 1800s, when Thomas Edison held a record number of patents for his inventions

D. in mid-1700s, when Ben Franklin was experimenting with electricity

Nobody knows where the word "gizmo" comes from, but it's been around since the 1940s. "Gadget" is another word for a small mechanical or electronic device. It first appeared around the late 1800s, at the time that Thomas Edison was at the peak of his career. "Thingamajig" and "thingamabob" both mean "something that is hard to classify or whose name is unknown or forgotten." "Thingamabob" is the older of the two words. Our earliest evidence of that term is from around 1750 (when Ben Franklin was experimenting with electricity), while the earliest evidence of "thingamajig" is from the early 1800s.