Gable

Gable, the upper part of the wall at the end of a building, which is triangular in form, owing to the slope of the roof. The Gothic gable corresponds to the Classical pediment (q.v.). Gables vary much in their pitch and in the treatment of the outline. In Norman churches the only ornament used was a cross at the apex, but in succeeding styles, the coping, previously flat and plain, is often richly moulded. In the Perpendicular style, however, the sides of gables sometimes consist of a series of steps.