To dig out or scoop something, usually roughly or violently, creating a deep hole or groove. It can also mean to overcharge someone unfairly.
From Old French 'gouge,' likely from a Celtic or pre-Latin source. The tool called a gouge (used in woodworking) came first, and then the verb followed, describing what the tool does—cutting deep grooves.
Gouges are one of humanity's oldest woodworking tools, and the word itself has survived over 2,000 years of language change because sculptors and carpenters kept using them—tools shape the words we have!
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