Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AUG'ER, a. [D. avegaar. The Saxon word is nafe-gar or naue-gar, from nafa, the nave of a wheel, and gar, a tool or a borer. It is probable that the real word is naugar, corrupted.]

An instrument for boring large holes, chiefly used by carpenters, joiners, cabinet makers, wheelwrights and shipwrights, It consists of an iron blade, ending in a steel bit, with a handle placed at right angles with the blade. Augers, made with a straight channel or groove, in some places, are called pod-augers; the modern augers, with spiral channels, are called crew-augers.