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gavel

noun
/ˈɡa.vəl/UK/ˈɡæ.vəl/US

Etymology

Origin obscure. Possibly an alteration of dialectal cavel, a variant of kevel (“a stone mason's axe with a flat face, a cleat or bollard”), from Middle English kevel (“a mason's hammer”), from Old Norse kefli (“a piece of wood, stick, cylinder, mangle”). Cognate with Norwegian kjevle (“rolling pin”).

  1. derived from *gebaną✻ — “to give”
  2. inherited from *gabul✻
  3. inherited from gafol
  4. inherited from gavel

Definitions

  1. Rent.

  2. Usury

    Usury; interest on money.

  3. An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death,…

    An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death, to all the sons equally; also called gavelkind.

  4. ›+ 9 more definitions

    1. To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.

    2. A wooden mallet, used by a courtroom judge, or by a committee chairman, struck against a…

      A wooden mallet, used by a courtroom judge, or by a committee chairman, struck against a sounding block to quieten those present, or by an auctioneer to accept the highest bid at auction.

    3. The beginning or end of legal proceedings.

    4. The legal system as a whole.

    5. A mason's setting maul.

    6. To use a gavel.

    7. To begin or end legal proceedings

      • The judge gavelled for order in the courtroom after the defendant burst out with a confession.

    8. A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle.

      • The combination with a mechanical rake of the roof or screen herein described, or the equivalent thereof, to intervene and keep the gavel of grain collected on the platform separated during its discharge

    9. A gable.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for gavel. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA