gambrel

noun

1. the hock of an animal, especially of a horse.
2. Also called gambrel stick. a wood or metal device for suspending a slaughtered animal.

noun

1. the hock of a horse or similar animal
2. a frame of wood or metal shaped like a horse’s hind leg, used by butchers for suspending carcasses of meat
3. short for gambrel roof

n.

“hipped roof,” 1851, short for gambrel roof, so called for its shape, from gambrel “horse’s hind leg” (c.1600), earlier “wooden bar to hang carcasses” (1540s), perhaps from Old North French gamberel, from gambe “leg,” from Late Latin gamba (see gambol).