gauge

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Old North French (French jauge ), from Germanic

The noun gauge (also gage ) appears in Middle English in 1332 in the compound noun gaugeman “official measurer.” A century later, in 1440, the verb gaugen (also gagen ) appears, meaning “to measure (depth, length), measure out (a quantity), make an official measurement of (a container or its contents).” The administrative state has always been in control! The figurative sense “to take the measure of a person or thing; appraise, judge” first appears in 1583.
Middle English gauge (noun and verb) comes from Old French gauger (verb) “to measure” and gauge (noun) “the action or result of measuring” (in modern French jauger and jauge for the verb and noun, respectively). Further etymology is speculative and unsatisfactory; some authorities suggest a Germanic noun galgōn- “branch, rod,” which becomes gealga in Old English (Modern English gallows ).
In Middle English the spellings gage- and gauge- occur indiscriminately, and some reputable modern authorities recommend the spelling gage, which is the spelling often used in technical contexts. A very common misspelling is guage.