gibbet Hear it!

gibbet definition

gib·bet (jibit)

noun

  1. a gallows
  2. a structure like a gallows, from which bodies of criminals already executed were hung and exposed to public scorn

Etymology: ME gibet, gallows, forked stick < OFr, dim. < Frank *gibb, forked stick

transitive verb

  1. to execute by hanging
  2. to hang on a gibbet
  3. to expose to public scorn

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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