Where does “gavel” come from?
Gavel comes from Old English gafol, from Proto-Germanic gabulą, from Proto-Indo-European gʰebʰ-, ultimately from the root gʰab(ʰ)- meaning to seize or take.
gavel (English): Rent; Usury; interest on money; An old Saxon and...
Definitions
- Rent; Usury; interest on money; An old Saxon and...
Ancestry of “gavel”, step by step
gavel traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English give
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | give | To move, shift, provide something abstract or... |
| 2 | English | foregive | To give ahead of time; give in advance |
| 3 | English | fore- | Positioned at or near the front; Before; ahead or... |
| 4 | English | Fore | A people of Papua New Guinea |
| 5 | German | Fahr | — |
| 6 | German | Fähre | ferry |
| 7 | Middle High German | verren | — |
| 8 | Old High German | ferrana | from afar |
| 9 | Old High German | ferro | afar; skipper |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | *ferrō | — |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | ferrai | far, distant |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | per-nóy | — |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Old French gavelle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | gavelle | — |
| 2 | Latin | capulus | sarcophagus, bier, sepulchre, tomb; handle |
| 3 | Latin | capere | present active infinitive of capiō; second-person... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | kapiō | take |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | kapjō | take, seize |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kh₂pyéti | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂p- | to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,... |
via English cavel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cavel | rod, pole, a large hammer, horse's bit; a stone... |
| 2 | Latin | capillus | a hair; hair; a head of hair: locks, tresses |
| 3 | Latin | caput | head; headlike protuberance on an organ or body... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | kaput | head |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | káput | head |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kap- | to seize, hold |