Etymology

gaffle

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Today it means: A lever used to bend a crossbow. Full definition →

Middle English gaffolle ← Middle Dutch gaffel ← Proto-West Germanic *gabulu
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gaffle · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*gabulu“fork”
  2. Middle Dutch · derived fromgaffel
  3. Middle English · inherited fromgaffolle
  4. English todaygaffle

From Middle English gaffolle, a borrowing from Middle Dutch gaffel, gafel (“fork”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *gabulu (“fork”), related to Old English gafol, ġeafel (“fork”).

gaffle · verb2

Blend of gaff + grapple.

Words from the same roots

Proto-West Germanic*gabulu all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.