/ ˈgæləʊz; NAmE -loʊz/ noun
( pl. gal·lows ) a structure on which people, for example criminals, are killed by hanging :
to send a man to the gallows (= to send him to his death by hanging)
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English galga , gealga , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch galg and German Galgen ; reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse gálgi .