*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of gavel

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

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.

noun

Rent. · 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.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiongavelenm
  • Inherited-form mentiongafolang
  • Inherited-form mention*gabulgmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*gebanągem-pro · to give
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
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. · A mason's setting maul.

verb

To use a gavel. · To begin or end legal proceedings

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionkevelenm · a mason's hammer
  • Derivation mentionkeflinon · a piece of wood, stick, cylinder, mangle
  • Cognate mentionkjevleno · rolling pin
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

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

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old French gavelle (cf. Modern French javelle) probably diminutive from Latin capulus (“handle”), from capere (“to lay hold of, seize”); or compare Welsh gafael (“hold, grasp”). Compare heave.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for gavel →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
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Import run
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Permanent entry ID
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