gallows

See also: Gallows

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡæləʊz/
• IPA^(key): /ˈɡæloʊz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English galwes, galewes, galowe, galwe, from Old English ġealga, from Proto-Germanic *galgô, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰalgʰ-, *ǵʰalg- (“long switch, rod, shaft, pole, perch”). Compare West Frisian galge, Dutch galg, German Galgen, Danish galge, Icelandic gálgi.

Noun

gallows (plural gallows or 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.
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

Derived terms

• gallous
• gallows bird

• gallows humor
• scapegallows

Translations

wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging

• Arabic: مِشْنَقَة f (mišnaqa)

  Egyptian Arabic: مشنقة f (mašnaʾa)

• Armenian: կախաղան (hy) (kaxaġan)
• Basque: urkamendi
• Belarusian: шы́беніца f (šýbjenica)
• Bulgarian: бесило (bg) n (besilo), бесилка (bg) f (besilka)
• Catalan: forca (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 絞刑架／绞刑架 (zh) (jiǎoxíngjià), 绞刑架 (zh) (jiǎoxíngjià), 絞台, 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)
• 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: גרדום (he) (gardom)
• Hungarian: akasztófa (hu), bitófa (hu)
• Icelandic: gálgi (is) m
• Italian: forca (it) f, patibolo (it) m
• Japanese: 絞首台 (こうしゅだい, kōshudai)
• Korean: 교수대 (ko) (gyosudae)
• Latin: arbor (la) f, gabalus m, patibulum n
• Latvian: kārtavas (lv) f pl
• Lithuanian: kartuvės
• Low German:

  German Low German: Galgen

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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)
• Polish: szubienica (pl) f
• Portuguese: forca (pt), cadafalso (pt) m
• Romanian: spânzurătoare (ro) f
• Russian: ви́селица (ru) f (víselica)
• 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
• Swedish: galge (sv) c
• Tagalog: bibitayan (tl)
• Tatar: дар (tt) (dar)
• Turkish: darağacı (tr)
• Ukrainian: ши́бениця f (šýbenycja)
• Vietnamese: giá treo cổ, giá xử giảo
• Vilamovian: guolgia
• West Frisian: galge
• Yiddish: תּליה f (tliye)

Any structure with posts and crossbeam for suspending objects.

• Maori: tārawa
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Etymology 2

Verb

gallows

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of gallow