gallows tree
Execution timber frame
A gallows tree is a wooden frame used for execution by hanging—either an actual tree with a sturdy branch or a constructed gallows.
The term appears mainly in folk songs, ballads, and historical contexts: Lead me not to the gallows tree.
It evokes a rawer, older form of capital punishment than the clinical modern gallows.
- nooseLoop that constricts
- gibbetExecution display structure
- hangmanOne who kills condemned
- scaffoldTemporary elevated work structure
- suspendHalt or hang temporarily
witch trials · public execution · execution · strangle · macabre imagery · stake · final reckoning · doom · martyrdom · drop · ghostly apparitions · capital punishment · timber · pillory · treason trials · hangman's noose · rope's end · medieval punishment
- executionsexecution, execution chamber, hanging, guillotine, executioner
gallows treecradle
Rocking bed for infants
incubator · hospital bed · birthing chair · life support · respirator
gallows treepardon
Official release from punishment
clemency · amnesty · mercy seat · reprieve · sanctuary
gallows treetree of life
Diagram of evolutionary connections
tree of knowledge · liberty tree · world tree · family tree · maypole