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gavel
A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle and often struck against a ''sound block'', a striking surface typically also made of hardwood, to enhance its sounding qualities. It is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially in the capacity of a chair or presiding officer.〔 It is used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations. According to tradition, Vice President John Adams used a gavel to call the very first Senate to order in New York in the spring of 1789. Since then, it has remained customary to bang the gavel against a podium to indicate the opening (call to order). It is also used to keep the meeting itself calm and orderly, and the closing (adjournment) of proceedings, giving rise to the phrase ''gavel-to-gavel'' to describe the entirety of a meeting or session. It is also used by judges in the courts of some countries and by auctioneers to signal a sale.
The sound of the gavel strike, being abrupt to start and stop, and clearly audible by all present, serves to sharply define an action in time in a manner clearly perceivable by all, and to endow the action with practical as well as symbolic temporal finality (what was not before striking, is after it; or what was before striking, is no more after it).
The gavel is used in courts of law in the United States and, by metonymy, is used there to represent the entire judiciary system, especially of judgeship; to ''bring down the gavel'' means to enforce or compel with the power of a court. It also represents the authority of presiding officers; thus the expression ''passing the gavel'' signifies an orderly succession from one chair to another. Gavels have never been used by judges in the UK, despite many American-influenced TV programmes depicting them.
==History==
There are references to the word in Medieval England in reference to a tribute or rent payment made with something other than cash. These agreements were set in English land-court with the sound of a "gavel," a word which may come from the Old English "gafol" (meaning "tribute"). "Gavel" would be prefixed to any non-monetary payment given to a lord (e.g., "gavel-malt"). A "gavel" may also have referred to a kind of mason's tool, a setting maul that came into use as a way to maintain order in meetings.
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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