gable
/ˈɡeɪ.bəl/noun
gable is spelled G-A-B-L-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, gable means “The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of gable is gables.
How many letters and syllables are in gable?
| Letters | 5: G-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gable?
Gable appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gable?
- /ˈɡeɪ.bəl/
Gable has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with gable
Also written: gabel.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with gable?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as gable.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bagel, gabel, gleba.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gable
- gables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches).
- 2
obsoleteA cable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense triangular area of wall:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gâble, pignon |
| German | Giebel |
| Portuguese | empena |
| Spanish | hastial, gablete, aguilón, frontón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gable come from?
The southern English term gable probably came from Old French gable (compare modern French gâble), from Old Norse gafl. The northern form gavel is perhaps also akin to Old Norse gafl, masculine, of the same meaning (compare Swedish gavel, Danish gavl). See gafl for more etymology information.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).