gadget

Meanings

1. A thing whose name cannot be remembered; thingamajig, doohickey.
2. Any device or machine, especially one whose name cannot be recalled, often either clever or complicated.
3. Any consumer electronics product.
4. A sequence of machine code instructions crafted as part of an exploit that attempts to divert execution to a memory location chosen by the attacker.
5. A technique for converting a part of one problem to an equivalent part of another problem, used in constructing reductions.
6. A spring clip attached to the end of a punty in order to grasp the foot of a glass without leaving a bullion while finishing the bowl.

Etymology

Unknown. First used in print by Robert Brown in 1886 (see quote in definition section). Might come from French gâchette or gagée, or from the French family name Gaget, an industrialist who produced promotional gadgets in collaboration with the project to build the statue of Liberty.