The word ''widget'' is a

placeholder name Placeholder names are intentionally overly generic and ambiguous terms referring to things, places, or people, the names of which or of whom do not actually exist; are temporarily forgotten, or are unimportant; or in order to avoid stigmat ...

for an object or, more specifically, a mechanical or other manufactured device. It is an ''abstract unit of production''. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' defines it as "An indefinite name for a

gadget A gadget is a machine, mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''wikt:gizmo, gizmos''. History The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in Glass ...

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

Usage

When discussing a hypothetical situation, the term is used to represent any type of

personal property Personal property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law (legal system), civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—a ...

, with the corresponding term

Blackacre Blackacre, Whiteacre, Greenacre, Brownacre, and variations are the placeholder names used for fictitious estate (law), estates in land. The names are used by professors of law in common law jurisdictions, particularly in the area of real property ...

used to represent any type of

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. For a structure (also called an Land i ...

. In such use, the widget or Blackacre has whatever characteristics are relevant to the scenario. So, if the object being discussed needs to be a liquid, then the widget is liquid. If it needs to be light, heavy, manufactured, naturally occurring or whatever, the widget has the necessary characteristics. In technology, the term has a variant, ''gigawidget'', which is used to describe an object that is fictitious. The term is also used for obfuscation, if the object's real technology, composition, or purpose is unknown. ''Widget'' is used in texts and speech, especially in the context of accounting, to indicate a hypothetical "any-product". Companies in such texts will frequently be given names such as "ABC Widgets" or " Acme Widget Corp." to indicate that the particular business of the hypothetical company is not relevant to the topic of discussion.Paul Levine and Peter Burgess. "Bankruptcy preferences: cashing the check may not be the end of the story". ''The Business Journals''. April 19, 2002.
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References

{{reflist Products Placeholder names Supply chain management

Usage

See also

References