gambrel

noun

gam·​brel ˈgam-brəl 

: a stick or iron for suspending slaughtered animals

Examples of gambrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To heel-hang a carcass, cut a gambrel stick, sharpen its ends, and push it through cuts made in the hock skin between the big tendon and the bone. — Maurice H. Decker, Outdoor Life, 17 Sep. 2025

Wall panels and wardrobe doors opened to reveal, variously, a garden, a snowdrift, and a deer carcass hanging on a gambrel. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024

Thread the gambrel through the natural holes in the hind legs (between the bone and thick tendon) and hoist your deer. — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 7 Sep. 2023

Hanging an animal on a gambrel, particularly in a meat locker, is cleaner and easier. — Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 20 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from Middle French (Norman) *gamberel, *gambereau (attested only in plural gambereaulx) "kind of pole or fork used by butchers," apparently re-formation or derivative of gambier, jambier "piece of wood used to keep the legs of a slaughtered animal separate," from gambe, jambe "leg" + -ier -er entry 2 — more at jamb

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gambrel

• gambrel roof