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Added 10 October 2026

gavel

/ˈɡa.vəl/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gavel at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Usury; interest on money.
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.

verb

To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.

noun

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.
The beginning or end of legal proceedings.
The legal system as a whole.

verb

To use a gavel.
To begin or end legal proceedings
The judge gavelled for order in the courtroom after the defendant burst out with a confession.

Origin

From Middle English gavel, from Old English gafol, from Proto-West Germanic *gabul, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), equivalent to give + -el.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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