Widget (economics)

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Look up widget in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word widget is a placeholder name for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device. It is an abstract unit of production.^[1]

The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "An indefinite name for a gadget or mechanical contrivance, esp. a small manufactured item" and dates this use back to 1931. It states that the origin is "perhaps U.S." and for etymology suggests that it may be a variant of gadget.^[2]

The term also appears earlier in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1924 play Beggar on Horseback.^[3] General Motors Corporation sponsored a short film in 1939, "Round and Round", which features widgets throughout.^[4][5]