Streamgage vs. Streamgauge

From the USGS:

Streamgage vs. Streamgauge — One of the many questions that people have asked from time to time is the spelling of the word "streamgage" versus spelling it with a "u" as in "streamgauge." Since today is#NationalGrammarDay we thought it would be a good time for a quick history lesson on this question. Buried deep on Page 50 of the USGS report, "A History of the Water Resources Branch, U.S. Geological Survey: Volume I, From Predecessor Surveys to June 30, 1919" (http://on.doi.gov/USGSWaterHistory) there's a reference giving credit to the change in spelling to F.H. Newell around 1892. The author writes:

"At about this time, F.H. Newell adopted the spelling "gage" instead of "gauge." As he informed the writer, "gage" was the Saxon spelling before the "u" was inserted as a result of Norman influence on the language. F.H. Newell may have been influenced, however, by the adoption of "gage" in the Standard Dictionary."

Ever since then the word has been spelled without the "u". #AndNowYouKnow

#USGS #science #history #streamgage #water#historical #streamflow