Gouge
/ɡaʊdʒ/noun
To cut, scoop, or tear out with a sharp instrument; also, to overcharge or cheat.
Did you know?The word likely came into English through Old French, where forms like gouge referred to a chisel-like tool, and its later “cheat/overcharge” sense turns the idea of carving into a metaphor for taking more than you should.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
gouge
“to cut or scoop out; later, to overcharge or extort”
Old French
OF
gouge
“a chisel, gouge, or similar cutting tool”
Medieval Latin
ML
gubia
“a carpenter’s chisel or carving tool”
Proto-Romance
PR
*gobja
“a curved cutting tool or chisel”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gheubʰ-
“to bend, curve, or hollow out”