Definition of "gabel" [ga•bel]

• A rent, service, tribute, custom, tax, impost, or duty; an excise. (noun)

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• "Nawt can put ennyfing else in wif him sept snails, an him spits gabel at tehm."
• "The ville surrounding it only contained ninety-five houses, paying gabel-tax, in the Norman survey."
• ""Yes," replied the townsman, "I am deputed by the people of St. Michel to tell you that they are good servants of the king, but that they do not mean to have any gabel, or marks on pewter or tobacco, or stamped papers, or _yreffe d'arbitrage_ (arbitration-clerk's fee).""