Word of the day gadget

9 Jan /17

Relying on our modern vocabulary and technologically advanced world, when we think of the word gadget, we tend to picture all kinds of small electronic devices with varied functions. Yet the origin of the word takes us back to the 19th century; and it obviously didn’t originate to name an electronic device of any kind.

The first written record, to name the word, comes from 1886, from Robert Brown’s Spunyarn and spindrift: a sailor boy’s log of a voyage out and home in a china tea-clipper: “Then the names of all the other things on board a ship! I don’t know half of them yet; even the sailors forget at times, and if the exact name of anything they want happens to slip from their memory, they call it a chicken-fixing, or a gadget…… ”

And it is exactly the first mention of the word in print, that leads to the origin of two theories. Where the first one gives the word gadget the meaning of a sailors’ slang word for any small mechanical thing or part of a ship, while the second one claims the word was used to name just any piece of mechanism, one can not recall the name of.

With the second one, officially proclaimed by the October 1918 issue of Notes and Queries, in an article entry on the word gadget, stating that: “……it has for years been a popular expression in the service for a tool or implement, the exact name of which is unknown or has for the moment been forgotten”.

And the etymology of the word is just as blurry as its initial meaning is, with one of the most plausible etymological suggestions that it originated from either the French gâchette, applied to various pieces of mechanism, or the French dialect word gagée, meaning ‘a small tool, instrument.’

By the 1920s, the word became synonymous to invention, as we see in Vivian Drake’s book Above the Battle, published in 1918, “gadget is the Flying Corps slang for invention! Some gadgets were good, some comic and some extraordinary.”

The term gismo or gizmo, used interchangeably with gadget, first appeared in print in a 1943 issue of The Times, defined as: “Gizmo—a term of universal significance, capable of meaning ‘gadget’, ‘stuff’, ‘thing’, ‘whozis’ or almost anything else the speaker wants it to”.

Where the second half of the 20th century saw both terms developing the meaning of small self-contained devices of high performance, usability and mobility.

In 1983, the animated television series Inspector Gadget introduced the iconic clumsy detective with various bionic gadgets built into his body. 2 years later the term gadget entered the context of software engineering. And nowadays, as we live in a world of gadgets, the word seems to be a kind of a universal term, applicable to just anything.

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7
10
2012

Don’t like opening a dictionary app to discover a word of the day?, and Instead, if you want to look up a new phrase on a widget or through notification, then you’re in the right place.

Learning a new word every day is one of the good habits that help us build up our thesaurus over time, so we tend to remember it longer.

There are hundreds of free vocabulary builder apps lurking in digital stores, but digging out the best app takes a tedious amount of time. 

And it’s getting even more difficult to discover such apps with a widget. So considering this fact, after hours of testing and digging, we’ve rounded up some of the best apps to learn a new word a day.

Which are the best word a day apps (With Widgets)

Word of the Day – Vocabulary Builder

It’s an amazing app to learn a new word a day and practice it with daily quizzes. You can save words or read them later at a tap of a button.

It has a classy user interface decluttered with tools so that users don’t be overwhelmed. 

The app shows a full definition of a phrase with a verb, adjective, noun, synonyms, antonyms, pictures, and more.

Besides, you can see the previous phrase that you’ve missed to catch up on.

Best of all, the widget is just easy to pull out to be a part of your phone’s lock screen, allowing you to see a new word daily at a glance. 

However, to know the meaning of a word, you still have to click and see a definition. 

Most of the phrases that it displays range from intermediate to advance levels. It collects phrases from Oxford, Merriam-Webster, thesaurus, and many other trusted sources.

It is a free app but demands a single payment to remove ads.

Free | Homescreen Widget | For advanced English learners 

Merriam-Webster

It’s one of the best American dictionaries that can make you a better lexicon. Since 1828, Merriam Webster has been publishing paperback dictionaries, and finally, in 2019, it launched its homespun app.

This app is available for free, and anybody can download it regardless of the country they live in. 

So, it has the a-z dictionary, a daily English phrase, and quiz games all draped into a single app.

Every word has its own detailed definition, carrying adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, synonyms, antonyms, related words, examples, phrasal verbs, and did you know facts?

In addition, for as low as $6 a year, you can gain more in-depth knowledge of words, with access to Meriam’s medical, kids, and legal dictionaries. Try out its free trial and cancel it (if you want to) at anytime. 

To spice things up a bit, add a shortcut to ask Siri for a “word of the day”. It notifies you whenever a new phrase comes out. 

To summarize, Merriam-Webster is legitimate and, thus far, the most trusted dictionary app for expanding one’s vocabulary.

Free | Supports Apple watch, iOS, Web| android | Siri support

Dictionary.com LLC

It’s one of the largest leading digital dictionaries, stacking up a shipload of content. Not only does it have millions of English words, but it also emphasizes making English grammar better.

Whether you write a journal or are a college student, this app is going to help you polish up your thesaurus.

Along with mugging up a new word every 24 hours, you will learn a new synonym and play quizzes and puzzles all the way through.

While Dictionary.com and Thesaurus are part of each other, you’ll get even more details on words by just switching from one tab to another. You can listen to the pronunciation, bookmark words, and share them socially. 

Even though it has an abundance of free stuff already, you may want to remove ads, unlock the offline dictionary, and get definitions and synonyms even without WIFI. It all starts with just a one-time $5 fee. 

Free | Apple watch, iOS | Android | Web | Supports Widget | Offline

Daily Word – Word Of The Day

It’s a minimalistic app with run of mill features that gears you towards learning a new word a day. If you merely want to learn a new English word every day, then this is the best option to go for.

Its user interface is quite easy to get the hang of. You’ll find every tool and option right before your eyes in a dark and light theme mode.

Moreover, you can go edge to edge and animate from switching from one window to another. 

This daily English word app also allows you to receive daily word notifications. As it’s solely an Android application, you can set a widget as usual.

There is no sign up needed or any in-app purchases. It is fully free and ad-less. 

It fetches its words from none other than a gigantic Merriam-Webster dictionary through an API.

So it only shows a bite-sized definition of words compared to the original source that contains in-depth descriptions.

However, you’d find the link to Merriam Webster at the bottom of every page if you’re looking for a detailed explanation of words. 

Free | For Android | supports notification and widgets

Word A Day: Learn a new word everyday

This application is the ultimate solution to enhance your vocabulary every day. It’s so lite that it has no other options around other than a new phrase.

If you aim to learn only a single word a day with bite-sized information, don’t look any further.

The only downside to using this app is that it doesn’t have the option to save words. So, you’ve got to jot down words on paper to memorize them.

You can use its translate app and get everything written translated into several languages. Besides, the app has pronunciation audio that will help you utter a phrase the right way. 

Unlike similar apps, it is solely dedicated to delivering a new English term every day, being exported from the major sources. It is free but includes ads. 

Free | for Android | Supports a widget

Word of the day by biggiko

Another word of the day app for advanced English learners It is straightforward to use and includes a widget. It lets you pick random words that you want to learn.

Also, you can set a notification at any specific time and receive a new word daily. It has a large list of words liked by other users, which you can discover in the Popular Words tab. 

When it comes to details, you won’t find it quite comprehensive when learning a new word for a well-defined explanation.

It just shows the basic details with a definition. Anyway, when scrolling down to the bottom, you find a link to look up on Google for far more broader details. This is all it offers for free.

The app peels off ads and has more to offer when you shell out nearly $10 a year, or you can test drive all the premium features for 3 days. 

Free | for Android | widget | Supports notification

Knudge.me

Kludge.me is undeniably the best app for English learners who want to supercharge their vocabulary. Whether it is a user interface, features, or content quality, it ticks all the boxes.

It may help you develop phrasal verbs, idioms, grammar, writing, and reading speed. It has an amazing way of teaching grammar that hooks users for so long.

For reading, it has games like Word Checker, Jelly Fizz, Reader’s Digest, Sea Voyage, and Polarity. It includes games for improving your writing as well.

What’s more, you can challenge a friend by sharing the code, or join an existing challenge with the tap of a button. It allows you to personalize the difficulty level of vocabulary and other courses.

It certainly doesn’t support a widget, but you get notified with six words daily. However, you can set the frequency to 1 if you are not willing to learn more than a single word.

To solidly learn what you have learned, it takes a personalized quiz, and you earn more knowledge credits for every right answer. 

On the whole, Knudge.me is an intuitive app that helps users bolster their vocabulary and grammar. To have access to a whole lot of premium features, go for the $5 monthly or $25 yearly plans.

The premium features allow you to play more games, add notes, access offline content, and much more. 

Freemium | Available for Android and iPhone, Amazon | Android | Notification feature | Offline support

Vocabulary Builder by Rishabh

As the name suggests, it’s another effective word of the day app that allows you to learn a new English word every day. It has a clean user interface that makes it easier to navigate around tools.

Using this app, you can ramp up your vocab quite easily without worrying about taking notes.

It lets you save new words to the starred tab so that you can have a look at what you’ve learned. 

Along with getting a daily word, you can scroll down the previous words. In addition, you can randomize words in the random tab.

This app has a widget that you can stick around on a homepage and check daily phrase with a verb, adjective, and bite-sized meaning. 

Best of all, it has all kinds of quizzes to test your word knowledge. Surprisingly, the app has garnered over a million downloads so far with a 4.5+ rating. 

Free | For Android | Supports widget and notification. 

Vocabulary by Monkey Taps

Building a vocabulary has never been easier. This app provided you with the best tools that would catapult you into becoming an articulate English speaker.

It has got a responsive user interface and a bunch of amazing features.

To learn a new word a day with this app, set a widget around a phone’s screen and have a quick glance at it anytime.

The other way around is to check them manually by clicking on the app. Best of all, you can set up how often the widget will update or set up a reminder.

The app allows you to save new words into collections, add your own phrases, share them, and look back over the past vocabulary. Moreover, you can use it as a dictionary to search for new terms.

It has a host of premium features that include an expanded library of categories, themes, no ads, and no watermarks. After the upgrade, it unlocks adjectives, nouns, verbs, and even Spanish phrases.

Free | For Android, iphone | widget | Supports Reminder. 

Wrapping up

Thanks for stopping by and reading this article. We’ve put together some of the best word of the day apps that support widgets and notification reminders.

These apps are specifically designed for English learners, Still, a few apps may have support for other languages, like Spanish or French.

Word of the Day Widget мод является модифицированной версией Word of the Day Widget разработано Jeffrey Blattman.
Вы можете скачать последнюю версию мода или оригинальную версию Word of the Day Widget 1.0.4 с HappyMod.
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Обновление включено	1970-01-01
разработчик	Jeffrey Blattman
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