gavelock

G2A1V4E1L1O1C3K5

noun

A spear or dart.

OriginMiddle English gavelock ← Old English gafeluc →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

noungavelock (plural gavelocks)

plural gavelocks

  1. obsoleterareA spear or dart.
  2. ScotlandobsoleteAn iron crowbar.

Origin

  1. Old Englishgafeluc“spear, javelin”
  2. Middle Englishgavelock
  3. Englishgavelock

From Middle English gavelock, from Old English gafeluc (“spear, javelin”), from gafol (“fork”) + -uc (diminutive suffix). Compare Old Norse gaflak, Icelandic gaflok, Old French gavelot, glavelot, French javelot, Irish gabhal (“fork”), Welsh gaflach (“fork, dart”). More at gaff, gaffle and javelin.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

gavelock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gavelock

MLA

“gavelock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gavelock. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gavelock,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gavelock.

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