gallows

[gal-ohz, -uhz]

noun

plural

gallowses, gallows 

1. a wooden frame, consisting of a crossbeam on two uprights, on which condemned persons are executed by hanging.

2. a similar structure from which something is suspended.

3. execution by hanging.

   a crime deserving of the gallows.

4. Also called gallows bitts. Nautical.,  a support on the deck of a vessel, generally one of two or more, consisting of a crosspiece on two uprights, for spars, boats, etc.

gallows

/ ˈɡæləʊz /

noun

1. a wooden structure usually consisting of two upright posts with a crossbeam from which a rope is suspended, used for hanging criminals

2. any timber structure resembling this, such as (in Australia and New Zealand) a frame for hoisting up the bodies of slaughtered cattle

3. execution by hanging

Word History and Origins

Origin of gallows¹

before 900; Middle English galwes, Old English g ( e ) algan, plural of g ( e ) alga gallows; cognate with German Galgen

Word History and Origins

Origin of gallows¹

C13: from Old Norse galgi, replacing Old English gealga ; related to Old High German galgo

Example Sentences

He provided the testimony that led to a series of arrests—then interrogations and torture, followed in most cases by a final march to the gallows, firing squad or guillotine.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She no longer complained of nerves; in fact, she seemed numb of all feeling except a kind of stone-faced endurance, like a prisoner waiting to be called to the gallows.

Read more on Literature

As Ralph Waldo Emerson saw it, Brown’s death on the scaffold turned him into a “new Saint awaiting his martyrdom, and who, if he shall suffer, will make the gallows glorious like the cross.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The sequences in which Victor collects his, shall we say, building supplies mean many trips to the gallows, swinging felons, and the warehousing of parts.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Their side had not long come from behind to go 2-1 up against Newcastle United when gallows humour swept across the London Stadium.

Read more on BBC