Talk:Gavel

needs a history section
This article can benefit from a history section (that is not altogether Euro- and US-centric).68.189.135.150 (talk) 01:29, 11 June 2021 (UTC)

the sound block
any information on the sound block and what its made of? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Murakumo-Elite (talk • contribs) 18:00, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

fixing the discussion page
I removed some of my former questions that I put in the wrong place in this page so I think the discussion page sould now be in correct format. My original quesion involved haveing more informanton and examples of gavels in other cultures. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Randomguydoingresearch (talk • contribs) 07:42, 22 February 2008 (UTC)

Paragraph on origin of word Gavel - multiple problems.
Please discuss this paragraph in the article in terms of needed citations, contains weasel words, and may have irrelevant information.


 * "The origin of the gavel's use, indeed of the word itself, is uncertain;"


 * The first unabridged dictionary I consulted stated the origin of the word gavel (as intended in this article) was unknown. This section needs citations (dictionaries) that support the statement that the origin is uncertain as opposed to unknown.


 * "in Middle English it refers to rent or tribute paid to a lord."
 * Gavel has many entries listed in unabridged dictionaries, but as different entries, not definitions under the same entry. This section needs a citation that this definition (re: tribute) has a connection to the word gavel as used in the context of this article.  Simply because there are other words spelled the same way as gavel, does not provide evidence of an etymological connection.


 * "It is possible that the use of a hammer in legislative or judiciary proceedings may represent Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor, as the use of lawspeakers at Thing is a practice that originated in heathen Scandinavia."
 * It is possible and may represent sound too much like weasel words. Need a citation to this fact, as well as, a reference to specific tie-in to the word gavel as used in this article.


 * "Masonic organizations used the maul as a symbol as early as the 18th century, through which the hammer may have come to represent meetings and order."
 * More weasel words, may have come. Need a citation to this sentence and a citation that the Mason maul is connected to the gavel.


 * " Another theory posits that the word is related to the gable of a roof, whose shape may resemble a mallet or gavel."
 * More weasel words, Another theory posits and may resemble. This sentence needs an authoritative citation.
 * -Parlirules 03:56, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

If you want a source for the etymology origin "unknown" it is here. Oxford University Press, no less: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/gavel?q=gavel — Preceding unsigned comment added by 1.152.111.161 (talk) 03:37, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Proposal to Delete Paragraph on origin of word Gavel.
If no citations are found to support the current paragraph, I propose to delete this paragraph. Parlirules 04:27, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Candidacy for Good Article
With all due respect, this article should be improved tremendously; emphasizing lists for current Federal, State, County and Local courts and magistrats. It also should include re-categorization of all current categories to represent each major article content theme. By nature, the subject is a Good Article subject, but credentials and criteria currently are not up to Wikipedia standards.

--Habatchii (talk) 21:04, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Other nations
I don't understand. Firat, I am quite sure that the gavel is used in other places, and not just those who based their politcal system on the US. I am quite sure I have seen video of British lawmakers rapping on the lecture to call order when Parliaments get unruly. Surely this is not some totally unrelated object or practice. Especially because of the name. Why would the US invent and press an object into use and name it a "gavel", "from the Old English for tribiute or payment of rent"? They wouldn't, they would come up with a new name. The use of an organic, evolved folk word like that implies that a "gavel" has been a thing for a long time, and that the US ADOPTED it for use in meetings. I believe it was a commonly used object in auctions, at the very least, and the US adopted it for use in lawmaking, perhaps modified it by adding a handle, etc. It may have been a simple block of wood before that. I think it entirely obvious that this article is missing most of the actual details of this object, and is entirely focusing on modern "gavels" as used in US justica and lawmaking, and suggesting that it was invented in the US and spread elsewhere. I think it obvious that this is not the case.

Idumea47b (talk) 13:17, 21 May 2019 (UTC)

Looking around a little, I find a few other sources. They sugest that rapping a hammer on a board to call order in a meeting has been done as far back as the Middle Ages, and interestingly, a gavel or maul is an important symbol of authority with the Masons. Since quite a few of the people who created the Governemnt of the United States were Masons, this is suggestive (insert conspiracy theories here). It also says that the word "gavel" was unknown in England until the 19th century, and was imported from America, which makes the "origin from Old Englsih" theory difficult to reconcile. It also demonstrates that the modern "hammer" shape is a new invention, or is not exclusive. The Official US Senate gavel is an ivory cylinder. I'd suggest that rapping a block of wood on the auction block has been a practice for a very long time, hammers also. This practive was blended with symbolism by the Masons who used the maul or gavel as a symbol of power. This practice was adopted by the US. Either they are mistaken about "gavel" being unknown in England until the 1800s, or the word was adopted from some OTHER English term in use with auctions/rentpaying, etc, and used first in the US. Although that seems dubious. In any case, the article needs improvment. THere is a lot that's not said here.

Idumea47b (talk) 13:43, 21 May 2019 (UTC)