n.
- A device used for hanging a person until dead; a gallows.
- An upright post with a crosspiece, forming a T-shaped structure from which executed criminals were formerly hung for public viewing.
- To execute by hanging on a gibbet.
- To hang on a gibbet for public viewing.
- To expose to infamy or public ridicule.
[Middle English gibet, from Old French, diminutive of gibe, staff, probably from Frankish *gibb, forked stick.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
