51Թ

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gallows

[gal-ohz, -uhz]

noun

plural

gallowses, gallows 
  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.



gallows

/ ˈɡæəʊ /

noun

  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. execution by hanging

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of gallows1

before 900; Middle English galwes, Old English g ( e ) algan, plural of g ( e ) alga gallows; cognate with German Galgen
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of gallows1

C13: from Old Norse galgi, replacing Old English gealga ; related to Old High German galgo
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He’s arrested, thrown in jail, then sentenced to the gallows.

From

Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnes Callamard said the "tide is turning" on capital punishment, adding that "it is only a matter of time until the world is free from the shadow of the gallows".

From

Singapore will march you to the gallows over just half-a-kilo of weed, but authorities themselves admit drug consumption is steeply rising, especially among people under 30.

From

The words seemed to echo from a shadowy past, where justice was twisted into a theater of cruelty, where the gallows were strung with piano wire on meat hooks.

From

In Syria's case that could mean the gallows, or a firing squad, or indefinite incarceration in some underground cell.

From

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Gallowaygallows bird