gouge
n. countablen. a deep, narrow hole or a sharp tool used to make such a hole. It is often used in mining or military contexts to describe a specific type of tunnel or a tool for digging.
n. a deep, narrow excavation or a sharp-edged tool used for carving or digging. Often refers to a specific type of tunnel or a specialized instrument in technical or military contexts.
The miners used a gouge to clear the loose dirt from the tunnel.
The soldiers were ordered to dig a defensive gouge in the earth to provide cover against the incoming artillery.
The archaeological team discovered a series of deep gouges in the cave walls, suggesting that early humans had used primitive tools to extract minerals from the rock face.
From Middle English gouge (“chisel with concave blade; gouge”), from Old French gouge, goi (“gouge”), from Late Latin goia, gubia, gulbia (“chisel; piercer”), borrowed from Gaulish gulbiā, from Proto-Celtic gulbā, gulbi, gulbīnos (“beak, bill”). The English word is cognate with Italian gorbia, gubbia (“ferrule”), Old Breton golb, Old Irish gulba (“beak”), Portuguese goiva, Scottish Gaelic gilb (“chisel”), Spanish gubia (“chisel, gouge”), Welsh gylf (“beak; pointed instrument”), gylyf (“sickle”). The verb is derived from the noun.