What does "gallows" mean?
Gallows: If I hang, I'll make a fat pair of gallows. Shak. O, there were desolation of gaolers and gallowses Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.A wretch who deserves the gallows. [R.] Shak.
- 3.(Print.) The rest for the tympan when raised.
- 4.pl. A pair of suspenders or braces. [Colloq.] Gallows bird, a person who deserves the gallows. [Colloq.] -- Gallows bitts (Naut.), one of two or more frames amidships on deck for supporting spare spars; -- called also gallows, gallows top, gallows frame, etc. -- Gallows frame. (a) The frame supporting the beam of an engine. (b) (Naut.) Gallows bitts. -- Gallows, or Gallow tree, the gallows. At length him nailéd on a gallow tree. Spenser.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17 · Modified: 2026-07-17