Gambrel
/ˈɡæm.brəl/noun
A hock-shaped bend or brace, especially in architecture or in the leg of an animal.
Did you know?Gambrel is tied to a medieval word for a bent stick or shackle-like support, showing how a simple shape can travel from tools to anatomy to architecture.
Etymological Timeline
Middle English
ME
gambrel
“A crooked staff, support, or device; later a hock-shaped bend or brace.”
Middle French
OF
gambe
“Leg; also a bent support or crook-shaped object in related forms.”
Late Latin
LL
gamba
“Leg or hock.”
Germanic substrate/loan
?
*kamba- / *gamba-
“Bent leg or crook-shaped limb; source debated in historical dictionaries.”
Modern English
English
gambrel
“A hock-shaped bend, brace, or roof form with two slopes on each side.”