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gable

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

5 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "gable", 5-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "gable" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "gable" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

gable is aEnglishnoun. It means: The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches). Pronounced /ˈɡeɪ.bəl/. Often confused with gal and game.

Key facts for gable
PropertyValue
Headwordgable
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡeɪ.bəl/
Letters5
Frequency rank#26,093
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of gable in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for gable is 5 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɡeɪ.bəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #26,093 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches).".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for gable, with forms such as "agble", "gabble", and "gabel". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "gal", "game", "gave", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is gable, spelled G-A-B-L-E, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches).

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: agble,gabble,gabel,gablle,galbe,gbale,ggable,gible

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for gable

Misspelling Variants of "gable"

agble5gabble6gabel5gablle6galbe5gbale5ggable6gible5
Misspelling Variants of "gable"

Frequency rank: #26,093 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gable"?
"gable" is spelled G-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡeɪ.bəl/.
What does "gable" mean?
As a noun, "gable" means: The triangular area at the peak of an external wall adjacent to, and terminating, two sloped roof surfaces (pitches).
What words are commonly confused with "gable"?
"gable" is commonly confused with "gal", "game", "gave". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gable"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gable" is /ˈɡeɪ.bəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gable"?
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 g... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter G in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.