chavel

C3H4A1V4E1L1
/ˈt͡ʃævəl/

noun

The jaw, especially of an animal.

OriginMiddle English chavel ← Old English ċeafl ← Proto-West Germanic *kafl →
Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nounchavel (plural chavels)

plural chavels

  1. obsoleteThe jaw, especially of an animal.
verbchavel (third-person singular simple present chavels, present participle chavelling, simple past and past participle chavelled)

present singular third person chavels · participle present chavelling · participle past chavelled · past chavelled

  1. UKdialectaltransitiveTo chew.

    The bracken lay sere under the trees, broken and chavelled by the restless wild winds of the long winter.

    1911, D. H. Lawrence, The White Peacock

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
chew

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*kaflaz“jaw”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*kafl
  3. Old Englishċeafl“a bill, beak, snout, jaw, jaw-bone, cheek, cheek-bone”
  4. Middle Englishchavel
  5. Englishchavel

From Middle English chavel (also chawl, jawle, jawe), from Old English ċeafl (“a bill, beak, snout, jaw, jaw-bone, cheek, cheek-bone”), from Proto-West Germanic *kafl, from Proto-Germanic *kaflaz (“jaw”). Doublet of jowl; see there for more.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

cheval
Cite this entry
APA

chavel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chavel

MLA

“chavel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chavel. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chavel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chavel.

Source: chavel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.