Gizmo is a name given in America to some device or gadget whose true name is either forgotten or unknown. Some synonyms for this are dingus, doohickey, whatsit, doofer, and thingumabob in AE and/or BE. It is expressed as Dingsbums in German, un truc or un machin in French and un cacharro or chisme in Spanish.
My theory as to the origin of the word is that, despite the hard G, it derives from the second Spanish word, chisme, given above, and ultimately from the Colloquial Arabic shismu: ? , meaning "What is its name?" (shu-ism-uh?), the shu coming from shay=thing, ism=name, -uh=of it).
Your opinions on this and any alternative explanations would be most gratefully received.
My theory as to the origin of the word is that, despite the hard G, it derives from the second Spanish word, chisme, given above, and ultimately from the Colloquial Arabic shismu: ? , meaning "What is its name?" (shu-ism-uh?), the shu coming from shay=thing, ism=name, -uh=of it).
Your opinions on this and any alternative explanations would be most gratefully received.
