The word "gymnal" is a variant of "gymnale," which means a type of hymnbook used in the Catholic Church. The pronunciation of this word is [ˈdʒɪm.nəl], with stress on the first syllable. The "g" is pronounced softly as a "j" sound due to the following "y" being a semivowel, and the "m" is doubled to indicate the stress on the first syllable. The final "al" syllable is pronounced as "əl" with a schwa sound.