gallows

IPA/ˈɡæləʊz/
KK[ɡˈæloz]IPA/ˈɡæləʊz/

gallows — noun

  • gallowssingular
  • gallowsesplural

1. a tall frame made of wood with a rope that hangs down, built to kill criminals b

1.nounB2
Definition

a tall frame made of wood with a rope that hangs down, built to kill criminals by breaking their neck when they are dropped from a height

Example

Dario watched the executioner test the gallows early that morning.

The gallows stood at the center of the prison yard for two centuries.

plural form but singular verb

Common collocations
  • build the gallows
  • sent to the gallows
  • at the gallows
  • face the gallows
  • die on the gallows
Synonyms
  • scaffold

    a raised platform for executions, which may hold the gallows but also refers to a beheading platform

  • gibbet

    a metal cage used to display a dead body after execution, not the execution device itself

  • noose

    just the rope loop, not the entire wooden structure

Usage Note

Gallows looks like a plural noun (ending in -s) but is usually treated as singular: 'The gallows was built in the town square.' When referring to the punishment rather than the physical structure, it can appear without an article after 'sentenced to': 'He was sentenced to the gallows for murder.'

Common Mistakes

The gallows were built in the square.
The gallows was built in the square.
Despite its plural spelling, 'gallows' is normally used with a singular verb.

gallows — adjective

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Gallows, scaffold, gibbet, and noose all relate to execution but refer to different objects. Gallows is the entire wooden frame with a rope, used specifically for hanging. A scaffold is a raised platform on which an execution takes place — it may hold a gallows, but it can also be used for beheadings. A gibbet is a metal cage that displays a dead body after an execution, not the killing device itself. A noose is only the rope loop that goes around the neck, not the structure that holds it. For example: 'The prisoner climbed the scaffold, where the gallows waited.' 'The executioner tightened the noose around his neck.' 'The body was left in a gibbet at the crossroads as a warning.'

scaffold ↗gibbet ↗noose ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • sent to the gallows
  • face the gallows
  • die on the gallows
  • escape the gallows
  • build the gallows

Prepositions

  • at the gallows
  • to the gallows
  • on the gallows
  • from the gallows

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Gallows comes from Old English 'galga,' which originally meant a cross or a frame used for hanging. It is related to Old Norse 'galgi' and German 'Galgen.' Although the word ends in -s like a plural noun, it has been used as a singular noun since the Middle English period.

First known use

12th century

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Adjective