hangman

English

Etymology

From Middle English hangman, hongman, hangeman, equivalent to hang +‎ -man.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

hangman (countable and uncountable, plural hangmen)

2. (countable) An executioner responsible for hanging criminals.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     One cried, "God bless us!" and "Amen" the other,
     As they had seen me with these hangman's hands.

4. Someone responsible for hanging pictures and other artworks in a gallery, museum etc.
   • 1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 213:

     I also asked some Royal Academicians to view it, viz. Northcote, Cosway, &c. who approved of it much: it is well composed, and beautifully coloured; but the hangmen at the Exhibition have not hung it in a conspicuous situation; it is placed in an ante-room, and pretty high […] .

6. (uncountable, games) A guessing game where one has to guess the word an opponent is thinking of by guessing one letter at a time, and involving the gradual drawing of a stick figure hanging from the gallows.

Derived terms

• cheat the hangman
• hangman paradox
• hangman's fracture
• hangman's jig
• hangman's noose
• hangman's wages
• hangmanship
• hangwoman

Translations

executioner

• Arabic: جَلَّاد m (jallād)
• Armenian: դահիճ (hy) (dahič)
• Bulgarian: палач (bg) m (palač)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 劊子手／刽子手 (zh) (guìzishǒu)

• Danish: bøddel c
• Dutch: beul (nl) m or f
• Estonian: timukas
• Finnish: hirttäjä, pyöveli (fi)
• French: bourreau (fr) m, bourrelle (fr) f
• Galician: buxeu m, verdugo m
• German: Henker (de) m
• Greek: δήμιος (el) m (dímios)
• Hindi: जल्लाद (hi) m (jallād)
• Hungarian: hóhér (hu)
• Italian: boia (it) m, carnefice (it) m
• Japanese: 死刑執行人 (しけいしっこうにん, shikeishikkōnin)
• Kumyk: жаллат (jallat)
• Macedonian: џе́лат m (džélat), гла́восек m (glávosek), гла́ворез m (glávorez), по́губник m (pógubnik), па́лач m (pálač), бе́сач m (bésač)
• Malayalam: ആരാച്ചാർ (ml) (ārāccāṟ), കുലക്കാരൻ (kulakkāraṉ)
• Norman: pendard m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bøddel m

• Persian: دژخیم (fa) (dožxim)
• Polish: kat (pl) m
• Portuguese: enforcador m
• Romanian: călău (ro) m, gâde (ro) m, gealat (ro) m
• Russian: пала́ч (ru) m (paláč), ве́шатель (ru) m (véšatelʹ)
• Spanish: verdugo (es) m, ahorcador m
• Swedish: bödel (sv) c
• Tagalog: tagabitay, mambibitay
• Turkish: cellat (tr)
• Ukrainian: кат (uk) m (kat)
• West Frisian: boal
• Yiddish: תּליון m (talyen)

game

• Bulgarian: бесеница f (besenica)
• Catalan: penjat (ca) m
• Czech: šibenice (cs) f
• Dutch: galgje (nl) n
• Finnish: hirsipuu (fi)
• French: pendu (fr) m
• German: Galgenmännchen n, Hängemännchen n
• Greek: κρεμάλα (el) f (kremála)
• Hungarian: akasztófa (hu)
• Icelandic: hengimann m
• Macedonian: бе́силка f (bésilka)
• Polish: wisielec (pl) m
• Portuguese: jogo da forca m
• Romanian: spânzurătoarea f
• Russian: ви́селица (ru) f (víselica)
• Spanish: ahorcado (es) m, colgado (es) m
• Swedish: hänga gubbe c
• Turkish: adam asmaca
• West Frisian: galchje

See also

• hangman's noose
• hanging