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gibbet

[jib-it]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gibbet ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a gallows with a projecting arm at the top, from which the bodies of criminals were formerly hung in chains and left suspended after execution.

verb (used with object), gib·bet·ed, gib·bet·ing.

to hang on a gibbet.
to put to death by hanging on a gibbet.
to hold up to public scorn.

RELATED WORDS

clog, congest, drown, suffocate, kill, gag, gasp, strangle, stifle, fill, stretch, execute, hoist, swing, scaffold, rope, hanging, noose, potence, obstruct

Origin of gibbet

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French gibet (earlier, staff or cudgel), diminutive of gibe staff, club
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gibbet

Historical Examples of gibbet

  • Long ago the cliff with its gibbet has been washed away by the sea.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

  • The gibbet remained for three years, and was then blown down in a gale.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

  • The body of Peare was not permitted to remain long on the gibbet.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

  • The gibbet was standing until the year 1850, when it was blown down.

    Bygone Punishments

    William Andrews

  • I avoided the gibbet which, however, should not have dishonored me as I should only have been hung.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for gibbet

gibbet

noun

  1. a wooden structure resembling a gallows, from which the bodies of executed criminals were formerly hung to public view
  2. a gallows

verb (tr)

to put to death by hanging on a gibbet
to hang (a corpse) on a gibbet
to expose to public ridicule

Word Origin for gibbet

C13: from Old French gibet gallows, literally: little cudgel, from gibe cudgel; of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gibbet
n.

early 13c., "gallows," from Old French gibet "gallows; a bent stick," diminutive of gibe "club," perhaps from Frankish *gibb "forked stick." The verb meaning "to kill by hanging" is from 1590s. Related: Gibbeted; gibbeting. "Originally synonymous with GALLOWS sb., but in later use signifying an upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were hung in chains or irons after execution" [OED].

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper