gavel
/ˈɡæ.vəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.66 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
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.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "More than three decades later, Ms. Pelosi is all but assured on Thursday of reclaiming her former title as speaker of the House, the first lawmaker in more than half a century to hold the office twice. With the gavel in hand, she will cement her status as the highest-ranking and most powerful elected woman in American political history."
- "The judge gavelled for order in the courtroom after the defendant burst out with a confession."
- "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"
Etymology
From Middle English gavel, from Old English gafol, from Proto-West Germanic *gabul, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), equivalent to give + -el.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡæ.vəl/
- British English: /ˈɡa.vəl/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Obsolete
- Transitive verb
- American usage
- Archaic