Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The jaw; especially, the jaw of a beast.
- To chew.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete The
jaw , especially, the jaw of a beast. - verb transitive, dialectal To
chew .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Middle English chavel, from Old English ċeafl ("a bill, beak, snout, jaw, jaw-bone, cheek, cheek-bone"), from Proto-Germanic *kaflaz, *keflaz, *kefraz (“jaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵēbh-, *gēbh- (“jaw, gills”). Cognate with Middle Low German kavel ("jaw, gums, palate"), Dutch kevels ("jawbones, toothless jaws"), Middle High German kivel, kivele, kiuwel ("jaw"). More at jowl.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word chavel.
Examples
-
Of lives which sorrows like mischievous dark mice chavel
Brother and Sister David Herbert 1916
-
Of lives which sorrows like mischievous dark mice chavel
Amores Poems 1907
-
{243} [Similarly _jowl_ for _chowl_ or _chavel_.] {244} _Richard III_, Act iv, Sc. 4.
English Past and Present Richard Chenevix Trench 1846
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.