Cambrel
/ˈkæm.brəl/noun
A frame or hook used to hang the hind legs of a slaughtered animal, especially during butchering.
Did you know?Cambrel is a variant of gambrel, whose name also gave us the “gambrel roof,” because its double slope was thought to resemble an animal’s bent hind leg.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kemb-
“To bend or curve; a proposed ancestral root connected with bending forms.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kampḗ
“A bend, joint, or curved limb.”
Late Latin
Latin
gamba
“The leg or hock of an animal.”
Old French
Old French
gambe
“A leg, especially an animal’s leg; source of later French jambe.”
Middle English
English
gambrel
“A hooked frame or support for hanging an animal by its hind legs.”
Modern English
English
cambrel
“A variant spelling of gambrel, retaining the butchering sense.”