I am VERY curious to know why that word rhymes with "rage." Because, as strange as that sounds, this is an example of English spelling/pronunciation rules that  >:( really irritates me.

It can also be spelled gage!

[Middle English, from Old North French, gauging rod, of Germanic origin.]

An odd one, I can’t think of another "au" that sounds like long "A."

Sitran

That’s an interesting candidate!

I knew gauge (gg, gge) mainly as a number for the mesh size of tricot and nylon stockings, railroad broad/narrow gauge and the American wire gauge system.

Now I find a host more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge , including some fancy quantum mechanics.

I support the candidacy.

The word is commonly used as a synonym for "measure," as in: "I went there to gauge people’s feelings about the new state flag."

Or the "gas gauge" tells the driver how much fuel is left in the tank."

I always thought it should be spelled ‘guage’ and still have to  correct myself, just because I know there’s a ‘u’ in there but I don’t know where to put it… Assuming it basically came from French, with engage etc.,  where did the ‘u’ creep in? Is it just a spelling error that propagated, or is there a reason?

I used to always have to stop and think how it’s spelled, too, until I just read this from the excellent etymonline.com:

gauge

   1440, from Anglo-Fr. gauge (1357), from O.N.Fr. gauger, from gauge "gauging rod," perhaps from Frank. *galgo "rod, pole for measuring" (cf. O.N. gelgja "pole, perch," O.H.G. galgo, Eng. gallows).

So evidently it’s that age-old story of the l>u transposition in French.

-Tim

Nice one. now ‘gaulge’  as in gouge.  ok, they drop the l. and it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Hehe, I never thought about that. But it makes sense.  Not a pretty word, but the English and French traded words better than they traded civility.