gibbet

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gib·bet / ˈjibit/ hist. • n. a gallows. ∎  an upright post with an arm on which the bodies of executed criminals were left hanging as a warning or deterrent to others. ∎  (the gibbet) execution by hanging: the four ringleaders were sentenced to the gibbet.• v. (-bet·ed, -bet·ing) [tr.] hang up (a body) on a gibbet. ∎  execute (someone) by hanging. ∎  archaic or fig. hold up to contempt: poor Melbourne is gibbeted in the Times.

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