“Gavel” comes from an Old English term “gafol” which meant “rent” or “tribute” given to landlords. Specifically, in Medieval England, if a person had no money to pay a land owner, the person could go to “land-court” and offer livestock or grain as payment. If the court found the items of equal value to the rent owed, a hammer strike sounded to show rent had been paid via the non-monetary item.