The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.
GAVEL
gavel
(noun) a small mallet used by a presiding officer or a judge
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
gavel (countable and uncountable, plural gavels)
(historical) Rent.
(obsolete) Usury; interest on money.
(historical) An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death, to all the sons equally.
Verb
gavel (third-person singular simple present gavels, present participle gavelling or gaveling, simple past and past participle gavelled or gaveled)
(transitive) To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.
Etymology 2
Noun
gavel (plural gavels)
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.
(metonymically, chiefly, US) The legal system as a whole.
A mason's setting maul.
Verb
gavel (third-person singular simple present gavels, present participle gavelling or gaveling, simple past and past participle gavelled or gaveled)
To use a gavel.
Usage notes
• In US English, the participles are gaveled and gaveling; in British English they are gavelled and gavelling.
Etymology 3
Noun
gavel (plural gavels)
A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle.
Etymology 4
Noun
gavel (plural gavels)
(Scotland, architecture) A gable.
Anagrams
• glave
Source: Wiktionary
Gav"el, n.
Definition: A gable. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Gav"el, n. Etym: [OF. gavelle, F. javelle, prob. dim. from L. capulus handle, fr. capere to lay hold of, seize; or cf. W. gafael hold, grasp. Cf. Heave.]
Definition: A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle. Wright.
Gav"el, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]
1. The mallet of the presiding officer in a legislative body, public assembly, court, masonic body, etc.
2. A mason's setting maul. Knight.
Gav"el, n. Etym: [OF. gavel, AS. gafol, prob. fr. gifan to give. See Give, and cf. Gabel tribute.] (Law)
Definition: Tribute; toll; custom. [Obs.] See Gabel. Cowell.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
31 March 2025
IMPROVISED
(adjective) done or made using whatever is available; “crossed the river on improvised bridges”; “the survivors used jury-rigged fishing gear”; “the rock served as a makeshift hammer”
Coffee Trivia
