gallows

See also: Gallows

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡæləʊz/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɡæloʊz/
• (now dialectal) IPA^(key): /ˈɡæləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (UK) -æləʊz, (US) -æloʊz, (now dialectal) -æləs

Etymology 1

From Middle English galwes, galewes, plural of galwe, galowe, from Old English gealga, from Proto-West Germanic *galgō, from Proto-Germanic *galgô, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰalgʰ-, *ǵʰalg- (“long switch, rod, shaft, pole, perch”). The plural construction probably refers to the vertical and horizontal beams.

Compare West Frisian galge, Dutch galg, German Galgen, Danish galge, Icelandic gálgi.

For the pronunciation /ˈɡæləs/, compare bellows, bodice.

Noun

gallows (plural gallows or (rare) gallowses)

1. Wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging. [from 1300s]
   • 1728, Thomas Otway, “The Atheist, or, the Second Part of the Solider's Fortune”, in The Works of Mr. Thomas Otway, volume 2, London, page 37:

     No, Sir, 'tis fear of Hanging. Who would not ſteal, or do Murder, every time his Fingers itch'd at it, were it not for fear of the Gallows?

2. (colloquial, obsolete) A wretch who deserves to be hanged.
   • 1590, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost:

     Ay, and a shrewd unhappy gallows too. / You'll ne'er be friends with him: a' kill'd your sister.

3. (printing, obsolete) The rest for the tympan when raised.
4. (colloquial, obsolete) Suspenders; braces.
   • 1882, George William Sheldon, The Story of the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York, page 67:

     The last pair of "gallowses" made by Mr. Gratacap was an order from Mr. Brokaw, the clothier.

5. Any contrivance with posts and crossbeam for suspending objects.
   • 1971, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather (screenplay, third draft)

     Lit by the moonlight through the window, he can see a FIGURE in the hospital bed alone in the room, and under a transparent oxygen tent. […] Tubes hang from a steel gallows beside the bed, and run to his nose and mouth.

6. The main frame of a beam engine.

Synonyms

• (wooden framework used for hanging): gallows tree, gallow tree, hanging tree, gibbet

Derived terms

• gallous
• gallows bird
• gallows-bird
• gallows-bitts
• gallows frame
• gallows god
• gallows humor
• gallows humour
• scapegallows

 

Translations

wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging

• Arabic: مِشْنَقَة f (mišnaqa)

  Egyptian Arabic: مشنقة f (mašnaʔa)

• Armenian: կախաղան (hy) (kaxaġan)
• Azerbaijani: dar ağacı
• Basque: urkamendi
• Belarusian: шы́беніца f (šýbjenica)
• Bulgarian: беси́ло (bg) n (besílo), беси́лка (bg) f (besílka)
• Burmese: ကြိုးစင် (my) (krui:cang)
• Catalan: forca (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 絞刑架／绞刑架 (káu-hìn-ka)

  Mandarin: 絞刑架／绞刑架 (zh) (jiǎoxíngjià), 絞架／绞架 (jiǎojià), ^{(please verify)} 絞臺／绞台 (jiǎotái)

• Czech: šibenice (cs) f
• Danish: galge c
• Dutch: galg (nl) f or m
• Esperanto: pendumilo (eo), pendigilo
• Estonian: võllas
• Faroese: gálgi m
• Finnish: hirsipuu (fi), hirsi (fi), hirttopaikka
• French: gibet (fr) m, potence (fr) f
• Georgian: სახრჩობელა (saxrčobela)
• German: Galgen (de) m

  Alemannic German: Galge m

• Greek: αγχόνη (el) f (anchóni), κρεμάλα (el) f (kremála)
• Hebrew: גַּרְדּוֹם (he) (gardom)
• Hungarian: akasztófa (hu), bitófa (hu), bitó (hu)
• Icelandic: gálgi (is) m
• Irish: croch f
• Italian: forca (it) f, patibolo (it) m
• Japanese: 絞首台 (ja) (こうしゅだい, kōshudai)
• Kazakh: дар (dar), дар ағашы (dar ağaşy)
• Korean: 교수대(絞首臺) (ko) (gyosudae)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: sêdare (ku) f

• Kyrgyz: дар (ky) (dar), дарга (ky) (darga)
• Latin: arbor (la) f, gabalus m, patibulum n
• Latvian: kārtavas (lv) f pl
• Lithuanian: kartuvės
• Low German:

  German Low German: Galgen

• Luxembourgish: Gaalgen m
• Macedonian: бесилка f (besilka)
• Maori: pou tārore
• Nogai: аскак (askak)
• Norman: gibet m
• Norwegian: galge m
• Persian: چوبه دار (fa) (čube-ye dâr), دار (fa) (dâr)
• Plautdietsch: Gaulj f
• Polish: szubienica (pl) f
• Portuguese: forca (pt), cadafalso (pt) m
• Romanian: spânzurătoare (ro) f
• Russian: ви́селица (ru) f (víselica), ши́беница (ru) f (šíbenica) (dialectal)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шибеница f, ве̏шала f, вје̏шала f

  Roman: šibenica f, vešala (sh) f, vjȅšala (sh) f

• Slovak: šibenica f
• Slovene: vislice (sl) f pl
• Spanish: horca (es) f, patíbulo (es) m, forca f, cadahalso m, cadalso (es) m, suplicio (es) m, tablado (es) m
• Swedish: galge (sv) c, galgbacke (sv) c (site with one or more gallows for executions)
• Tagalog: bibitayan (tl)
• Tajik: чӯбаи дор (čüba-yi dor), дор (tg) (dor)
• Tatar: дар (tt) (dar)
• Thai: ตะแลงแกง (th) (dtà-lɛɛng-gɛɛng)
• Turkish: darağacı (tr)
• Ukrainian: ши́бениця f (šýbenycja)
• Uzbek: dor (uz)
• Vietnamese: giá treo cổ (架挑股), giá xử giảo (架處絞)
• Vilamovian: guolgia
• Welsh: crocbren (cy) m
• West Frisian: galge
• Yiddish: תּליה f (tliye)
• Zazaki: darağaci f, darahenıki f

any structure with posts and crossbeam for suspending objects.

• Maori: tārawa

Etymology 2

Verb

gallows

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of gallow