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(transitive) To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.
Etymology 2
Origin obscure. Possibly an alteration of dialectal cavel, a variant of kevel(“a stone mason's axe with a flat face, a cleat or bollard”), from Middle Englishkevel(“a mason's hammer”), from Old Norsekefli(“a piece of wood, stick, cylinder, mangle”). Cognate with Norwegiankjevle(“rolling pin”).
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.
2019 January 2, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Nancy Pelosi, Icon of Female Power, Will Reclaim Role as Speaker and Seal a Place in History”, in New York Times:
More than three decades later, Ms. Pelosi is all but assured on Thursday of reclaiming her former title as speaker of the House, the first lawmaker in more than half a century to hold the office twice. With the gavel in hand, she will cement her status as the highest-ranking and most powerful elected woman in American political history.
1857, United States Patent Office, Commissioner of Patents Annual Report:
The combination with a mechanical rake of the roof or screen herein described, or the equivalent thereof, to intervene and keep the gavel of grain collected on the platform separated during its discharge