# gaffle

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡæfl̩/

## Definitions
1. A lever used to bend a crossbow.
2. A steel spur attached to a gamecock (sometimes used figuratively).
3. 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.
4. a fork in an orienteering race.

## Etymology
From 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”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gaffle