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 ġealga, 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)

Wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging. [from 1300s]
- 1728, Otway, Thomas, “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?
(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.
(printing, obsolete) The rest for the tympan when raised.
(colloquial, obsolete) Suspenders; braces.
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.
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 humor
gallows humour
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) (kaxałan)
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:
Mandarin: 絞刑架／绞刑架 (zh) (jiǎoxíngjià), 絞架／绞架 (jiǎojià), ^{(please verify)} 絞臺／绞台 (jiǎotái)
Min Nan: 絞刑架, 绞刑架 (káu-hìn-ka)
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 (こうしゅだい, kōshudai)
Kazakh: дар (dar), дар ағашы (dar ağaşy)
Korean: 교수대(絞首臺) (ko) (gyosudae)
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
Swedish: galge (sv) c
Tagalog: bibitayan (tl)
Tajik: чӯбаи дор (čübayi 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

Verb

gallows

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of gallow