ONlwSG

gobhal m. [ˈɡ̊o-əɫ̪], gen. gobhail -[əl] and goibhle [ˈɡ̊əilə], in the sense ‘cleft pole’ is tentatively derived by Craigie (1894, 158: ‘spaltet pæl’) from ON gafl m. ‘gable’.

Probably originally ‘point, apex; cleft’ (ordbokene.no, s.v. gavl).

However, Marstrander (1915a, 123) notes that EG gaḃul predates the Viking Age; consequently McDonald (2009, 356) considers the loan unlikely. At any rate, ON gafl might formally be expected to yield SG *gabhl *[ɡ̊auɫ̪] rather than *gabhal *[ˈɡ̊a-əɫ̪] or gobhal [ˈɡ̊o-əɫ̪].

EG gaḃul has the senses ‘fork; forked branch of a tree; fork of a gallows; beam, rafter of house; support for hanging a cauldron; pillar; pair of compasses; fork of the body; bifurcation in a glen; branch of a river etc.’ (eDIL^˄), cf. modern Ir. gabhal ‘fork, anything forked; pitch-fork; tree fork, hence pole or prop; roof-couple etc.’ (Dinneen 1947). EG gaḃul is cognate with W gafl, Bret. gaol and OEng. gafol, geafol (MEng. ȝevel, Eng. yeevil, yelve ‘dung-fork’ (OED^˄)). The semantically comparable but etymologically distinct Eng. gable is taken to be from ON gafl, via OFr. gable ‘gable’ (see MacBain 1911; MacLennan 1925; GPC^˄; SND^˄; OED^˄).

For SG gobhal, 

Armstrong (1825) notes that the word is also written gabhal; M^cAlpine (1832) spells the word gobhall.

Shaw (1780) gives ‘post, pillar, prop, shore’ and, listed separately, ‘regio perineum’; Armstrong adds ‘the forked part of anything; fork, prong’, HSS (1828) ‘house supporter, forked supporter’, M^cAlpine (1832) ‘pair of compasses’; while, more recently, Faclan bhon t-Sluagh gives the senses ‘crotch; the fork of an implement’, and AFB^˄ ‘bifurcation, fork; crotch; junction’. Scottish Gaelic terms given in Faclan bhon t-Sluagh conveying the sense ‘gable’ include ceann (Skye, Islay), stuadh (Islay, Tiree, Ross-shire, Mull, Skye), tulchainn (Ross-shire, Gairloch) and gèibheal 

Cited as geubhail, corrected to gèibhil. SG gèibheal (AFB^˄; Dwelly 1911: geibheal) is no doubt from Scots gavel ‘gable’, itself from ON gafl (SND^˄). Faclan bhon t-Sluagh^˄ gives SG càbal ‘gable’ for South Uist, but, while the form has been adopted by AFB^˄, it may be the result of confusion of Eng. cable ‘rope’ (> SG càbal) and Eng. gable.

(North Uist), but not gobhal.