gavel

Short definition from Wiktionary

Noun

1. 1
   Rent.
2. 2
   Usury; interest on money.
3. 3
   An old Saxon and Welsh form of tenure by which an estate passed, on the holder's death, to all the sons equally; also called gavelkind.
4. 4
   A wooden mallet, used by a courtroom judge, or by a committee chairman, struck against a sounding block to quieten those present, or by an auctioneer to accept the highest bid at auction.
5. 5
   The beginning or end of legal proceedings.
6. 6
   The legal system as a whole.
7. 7
   A mason's setting maul.
8. 8
   A small heap of grain, not tied up into a bundle.
9. 9
   A gable.

Verb

1. 1
   To divide or distribute according to the gavel system.
2. 2
   To use a gavel.
3. 3
   To begin or end legal proceedings