Gavels

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A lightweight hammer used by a presiding official to indicate decisions or begin discussions; a tool for enforcing order during formal gatherings or meetings; a representation of governance often found in courts and legislative assemblies
2. A small mallet used by a judge or chairperson to signal authority or command attention during meetings
3. An official's hammer employed to punctuate decisions or maintain order in formal gatherings

Etymology: The plural "gavels" simply takes the regular -s ending on "gavel," the small wooden mallet a presiding officer strikes to call a meeting to order or to mark a decision. The noun itself is far older than its courtroom and parliamentary use suggests: in Old English it was "gafol," a word meaning rent or tribute paid to a lord, and the connection to "give" runs through that sense of payment. The hammer's own name is more tangled. Its origin is obscure, and one proposal links it to a dialect word "cavel" for a stonemason's flat-faced axe, which in turn traces back to Old Norse "kefli," a stick or rolling pin. Another proposal derives the word from Old French "gavelle," a bundle of cut grain or sheaf, perhaps from a Latin word for a handle. Neither theory is settled, so the hammer's name remains uncertain even as its shape is clear.

Synonyms: mallets, hammers, strikers, pounders, clubs