gallows
Use Gallows in a sentence
oʊz, -əz noun, plural gal·lows·es, gal·lows.
1.
a wooden frame, consisting of a crossbeam on two uprights, on which condemned persons are executed by hanging.
2.
a similar structure from which something is suspended.
3.
execution by hanging: a crime deserving of the gallows.
4.
Also called gallows bitts. Nautical. a support on the deck of a vessel, generally one of two or more, consisting of a crosspiece on two uprights, for spars, boats, etc.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English galwes, Old English g(e)algan, plural of g(e)alga gallows; cognate with German Galgen
before 900; Middle English galwes, Old English g(e)algan, plural of g(e)alga gallows; cognate with German Galgen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To gallows
00:10
Gallows
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
gallows (ˈɡæləʊz) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , pl -lowses, -lows | |
| 1. | a wooden structure usually consisting of two upright posts with a crossbeam from which a rope is suspended, used for hanging criminals |
| 2. | any timber structure resembling this, such as (in Australia and New Zealand) a frame for hoisting up the bodies of slaughtered cattle |
| 3. | the gallows execution by hanging |
| [C13: from Old Norse galgi, replacing Old English gealga; related to Old High German galgo] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
gallows
early 13c., pl. of M.E. galwe "gallows," from O.N. galgi, or from O.E. galga (Mercian), gealga (W. Saxon); all from P.Gmc. *galg- "pole" (cf. O.Fris. galga, M.H.G. galge "gallows, cross"), perhaps cognate with Lith. zalga "pole, perch," Armenian dzalk "pole." Originally also used of the cross of the
crucifixion. Plural because made of two poles.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Gallows definition
Heb. 'ets, meaning "a tree" (Esther 6:4), a post or gibbet. In Gen. 40:19 and Deut. 21:22 the word is rendered "tree."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences
His beard had gone gray, his sons were dead and the gallows were being readied.
The rope is not a normal gallows rope but the stem of an opium poppy.
Gallows humor, perhaps, but it has helped me to survive my condition.
In this book drugs are merely a means to an end, and that end is the gallows.
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