gibbet

Meanings

Noun

• An upright post with a crosspiece used for execution and subsequent public display.
• The projecting arm of a crane, from which the load is suspended; the jib.
• A human-shaped structure made of iron bands designed to publicly display the corpse of an executed criminal.

Verb

• To execute (someone), or display (a body), on a gibbet.
• To expose (someone) to ridicule or scorn.

Origin

• From Middle English gibet, from Old French gibet (French gibet), either from Frankish *gibb ("forked stick") or from Latin gibbus ("hunchbacked").