gaffle
A steel spur attached to a gamecockA steel spur attached to a gamecock (sometimes used figuratively).
Meaning
4 sensesA steel spur attached to a gamecock (sometimes used figuratively).
(historical)A portable fork of iron or wood in which the heavy musket formerly in use was rested that it might be accurately aimed and fired.
A fork in an orienteering race.
(obsolete)A lever used to bend a crossbow.
Origin
From Middle English gaffolle, a borrowing from Middle Dutch gaffel, gafel (“fork”), ultimaFrom Middle English gaffolle, a borrowing from Middle Dutch gaffel, gafel (“fork”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *gabulu (“fork”), related to Old English gafol, ġeafel (“fork”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.