gable end

6.9

A triangular wall at the end of a building under the sloping roof

noun
/ˈɡeɪbəl ɛnd/

: frente de gablete

During the storm, debris collected at the gable end of the building, causing leaks in the roof.
gable end of a house

Examples

A light shone out from an open door at its gable end.

Fiction book (1997)
Gradually, the group dispersed, and the two petrified pillars remained standing alone at the gable end of the house.

Fiction book (1995)
To enhance the aesthetic appeal of the house, I painted the gable end a bright color.
The architect designed the gable end with large windows to let in more natural light.

Synonyms

gable

vsgable end

19 6.6

A triangular part of a wall under a sloping roof

is more focused on the feature located at the building end

gable wall

vsgable end

6.9

The triangular top part of a wall under a sloping roof

is used to refer specifically to the end position on a building

pignon

vsgable end

9.9

The triangular top of a wall at the end of a roof

is treated here as the main term rather than that alternate name

Surface Forms

gable end singular

gable ends plural

Morphology

gable + end

The meaning is directly compositional: it denotes the 'end' (outer extremity) of a building characterized by a 'gable' (triangular wall), so a learner who knows both words can combine them to derive the definition. This follows a standard noun + noun composition pattern (cross-linguistically common), making the phrase transparent provided the learner already knows the somewhat specialised word 'gable'.

Etymology

Gable end comes from the simple image of a gable, the triangle made by the sloping roof, at the end of a house. So it means 'the vertical triangular wall at the end of a building'.