Augers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tool with a helical bit, used for drilling holes in the ground or soft materials
2. A device employed in various trades and crafts to create deep and narrow holes
3. To predict or foresee based on omens or signs, often related to divination practices

Etymology: The plural "augers" is simply the form of "auger," so the story belongs to the singular. The word's most surprising feature is that it began as "nave" plus "spear." Old English "nafugār" joined "nafu," meaning the hub of a wheel, with "gār," a spear, so the tool was named for its resemblance to a spear driven into a wheel's centre. Over time, the initial "n" was lost by a process called rebracketing: Middle English "a nauger" was heard as "an auger," and the "n" simply migrated to the article. That slip is why English speakers today have no "n" at the front of the word. The word has relatives across the North Sea. Dutch "avegaar" follows the same pattern, showing that the tool and its name were shared among early Germanic-speaking peoples long before English existed as a separate language.

Synonyms: drills, borers