▪ I. gibbet, n.1
(ˈdʒɪbɪt)
Forms: 3–8 gibet(t, 3–5 gebet(t, 4–6 gyb(b)ate, -et(te, jebat, (4 gebat, 6 Sc. geibat, geobet, gibbot), 5–6 jub(b)et(t, 5–7 jeb(b)et(t, 6 gyb(b)yt(te, gebbit, jebytt, 6–7 jeb(b)it, jibbet(t, jeobet(te, -it, 7–8 gibbit, 6– gibbet.
[a. OF. gibet gallows, gibbet, in early use, staff or cudgel, dim. of gibe staff, club: see jib. The It. giubbetto of the same meaning is believed to be from Fr., influenced in form by giubbetto, -etta, dim. of giubba cloak.]
1. Originally synonymous with gallows n., but in later use signifying an upright post with projecting arm from which the bodies of criminals were hung in chains or irons after execution.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 116 Me were muchele dole leouere þet ich iseie ou alle þreo..hongen on a gibet uorte wiðbuwen sunne. 13.. K. Alis. 4722 Heore feet men kneotte theo hors to. To the gybet al quyk men tare, Hygh they weore an-honged thare. 1382 Wyclif Deut. xxi. 22 Whanne a man..were hongid in the gebet, the careyn of hym shal not abide in the tree. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1868) 64 She was atyred with highe longe pynnes lyke a iebet, and so she was scorned of alle the company, and saide she bare a galous on her hede. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 8 Their bodyes to the ieobet solempnly ascende Wauing with the wether while their necke will holde. a 1529 Skelton Sp. Parrot 75 The iebet of Baldock was made for Jack Leg. 1572 Nottingham Rec. IV. 141 Payd to Bate for takyng of Cranwell downe of the jebytt xij d. 1625 Gonsalvio's Sp. Inquis. 48 The lines that tye both his hands and thumbes to a certaine Pullie which hangeth on the Ieobit. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. ii. 248 Haman inherits the gibbet of Mordecai. 1705 Hickeringill Priest-cr. i. (1721) 37, I never saw any spiritual Highway-Man..according to their Merits, hang'd upon Gibbets. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Gibet, a machine in manner of a gallows, whereon notorious criminals after execution, are hung in irons, or chains, as spectacles, in terrorem. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 318 There, the black gibbet glooms beside the way. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. ii, Several groups..gazed on the scaffold and gibbet. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xxi, You shall see a row of gibbets from here to Deeping. |
| fig. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. i. 5 (Harl. MS.) Now þan most a prelate honge the wif—what bymenyth that? Farsoth þat..þe flesh be hongyd on þe iebet of penaunce. 1600 Heywood 1st Pt. Edw. IV, Wks. 1874 I. 34 Hast thou ensnar'd our heedlesse feet with death, And brought vs to the Iibbet of defame? 1650 Trapp Comm. Gen. vi. 17 God hath hang'd up the old world in gibbets, as it were, for our admonition. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vi. 264 Heart-merit wanting, mount we ne'er so high, Our height is but the gibbet of our name. 1806 Fessenden Democr. I. 15 Expos'd on satire's gibbet high, To frighten others of the fry. |
† b. Applied to the Cross.
Obs.| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 4666 On the Gibet of the crosse deignyng for me to dye. 1535 Fisher Wks. (1876) 416 On the gebbit of the Crosse. |
c. Halifax Gibbet: an instrument for beheading criminals, similar to the Scotch maiden or French guillotine, formerly in use at Halifax in Yorkshire.
| 1650 in J. Watson Halifax (1775) 219 To suffer death, by having their heads severed, and cut off from their bodies, at Halifax Gibbet. 1775 J. Watson Ibid., The said Abraham Wilkinson and Anthony Mitchell were..conducted to the said gibbet, and there executed in the usual form. |
† d. to ride the gibbet: to be carried on a pole round the town.
Cf. to ride the stang.
Obs.—1| 1519 Surtees Misc. (1888) 34 She shalnot chyde ne flyte w{supt} eny neghtburez..oppen ridyng of the jebit, or thew, aboute the towne. |
2. The punishment of death by hanging.
| 1751 Jortin Serm. (1771) VII. xi. 218 The..wickedness of many is such, that nothing but..jails and gibbets can keep civil society in..order. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles ii. v, Some poor criminal..from the gibbet..Respited for a day. 1872 C. Gibbon For the King xiii, The gibbet and the musket are the only lawgivers of the hour. |
| fig. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) ii. iv. 91 And to be condempned unto the gybet of hell. |
3. † a. A short beam projecting from a wall, having a pulley fixed at the end (
obs.).
b. The projecting arm of a crane; also called
jib.
c. Sc. A chimney crane for hanging a pot over the fire.
| a. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 127 The said wardens..haue made in the stede of y⊇ said crane a gibet hanging on a wall not able to take any thingis out of the watir of Thamyse. 1545 Act 37 Hen. VIII, c. 12 §9 Houses, with Key or Wharf, having any Crane or Gibet belonging to the same. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. 35 All Cranes, Gybbettes, and Ingines to lift vp. |
| b. 1729 Desaguliers in Phil. Trans. XXXVI. 194 The Crane must be a fix'd one, and only the Gibbet moveable, from which the Weight hangs. 1806 O. Gregory Mech. (1807) II. 197 Gibbet or jib of a crane, the projecting beam upon the extremity of which is fixed a pulley. 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. |
| c. 1477 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 408 A brewyne fat, a hemmyr stand, a bukket, and a gybbate that it hang by. 1887 [see gibbet-pan in 5 below]. |
† 4. A cudgel.
Obs.| c 1600 Day Begg. Bednall Gr. v. (1881) 108 Give me but an ashen Gibbet in my hand, an I do not dry bang them both, I'll be bound to eat hay with a horse, so will I. 1674–91 Ray S. & E.C. Words 100 A Gibbet; a great Cudgel, such as they throw up Trees to beat down the Fruit. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
gibbet-chain,
gibbet-foot,
gibbet-irons,
gibbet-law,
gibbet-tree;
gibbet-carrier,
gibbet-maker;
gibbet-wise adv.; also
gibbet-gab,
-pan,
Sc. (see
quots.);
gibbet-thief, a thief who is hanged on a gibbet.
| 1731 Arbuthnot Treat. Scolding 20 You did not love Cruelty, you Kennel-raker, you *Gibbet-carrier. |
| a 1847 Eliza Cook Song of Wind vi, I had swung the *gibbet⁓chains against the bleaching bones. |
| 1826 Scott Woodst. xxx, Keep your scurrile jests for the *gibbet-foot. |
| 1887 Jamieson, Suppl. s.v. Gibbet, The largest pots were hung on the swee itself, or were attached to it by a strong double hook called the *gibbet-gab. |
| 1898 Daily News 13 Sept. 5/1 A complete set of *gibbet irons. |
| 1708 S. Midgley (title) Hallifax, and its *Gibbet-Law placed in a true Light. 1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 13/2 The ‘Halifax Gibbet Law’ was not alone exercised for the protection of clothiers, but it was also used for the punishment of other felonies. |
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. iv. iii. 80 What sayes Iupiter? Clowne. Ho the *Iibbetmaker, he sayes that he hath taken them downe againe, for the man must not be hang'd till the next weeke. |
| 1887 Jamieson, Suppl., *Gibbet-pan, a name given to the largest pot or pan used in cooking: so called because it generally hung on the gibbet or swee. |
| 1700 Congreve Way of World iii. v, I hope to see him hung with Tatters, like a long Lane Pent-house, or a *Gibbet-thief. |
| 13.. St. Cristofer 668 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 462 Myne eldirs..sloughe hym on a *gebete-tree. 1808 Scott Marm. i. xii, We saw..on the gibbet-tree, reversed, His foeman's scutcheon tied. |
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 266 Putting a piece of Timber *Gibbet-wise into that hole in the Wall. |
▪ II. † ˈgibbet, n.2 Obs. [Perh. a. OF. juppet (occurring in the sense ‘distance to which one can shout’), f. jupper, juper to whoop, cry out.] A note on the horn, a call or whistle as a signal to a dog or hawk. Hence
† ˈgibbeting vbl. n., the utterance of such a signal.
| 1590 Sir T. Cockaine Hunting C iv b, Being sure it is his owne Deere, he may giue one gibbet at euery imprime, and no more. 1615 Markham Country Contentm. i. viii. 93 If your Hawke..rake and gase after euery checke, neither respecting whooping nor gibbeting, in this case you must [etc.]. 1616 Surflet & Markham Country Farme 668 The cries of the hounds, the winding of hornes, or the gibbetting of the huntsmen. 1621 Markham Hunger's Prevent. (1655) 49 Your Water-dogge..vpon the least gybbet or call to come running vnto you. 1730 Sir W. Yonge Norfolk Garland, Tolle Aux! then Callet cry'd And gave a gibbet shrill. |
▪ III. gibbet, v. (
ˈdʒɪbɪt)
[f. gibbet n.1] † 1. intr. To hang as on a gibbet.
Obs.| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 282 Hee that gibbets on the Brewers Bucket. |
2. trans. To put to death by hanging.
| 1726 Amherst Terræ Fil. viii. 37 Starving, burning, and gibetting, one year, all persons holding such opinions. 1851 Dixon W. Penn xxvii. (1872) 246 He was..found guilty, and gibbeted in front of his own house in Cheapside. 1881 Blackie Lay Serm. viii. 239 The Stuarts gibbeted the Covenanters because they denied the rights of a civil sovereign to frame liturgies [etc.]. |
b. To hang (a carcase) on a gibbet by way of infamous exposure. Also with
up.
| 1752 [see 3]. 1761 Brit. Mag. II. 669 This murderer..under⁓standing that he was to be gibbeted..was greatly enraged. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 209 Wickedness..walks abroad; it continues its ravages; whilst you are gibbeting the carcass, or demolishing the tomb. c 1820 S. Rogers Italy, Adventure ii. xiv. (1828) 87 Soon should I..limb by limb, be mangled on a wheel, Then gibbeted to blacken for the vultures. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxiii, Away with that convict to the gallows, and gibbet him alive an you will. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. iv. 88 All the culprits were hanged; according to Walsingham, were gibbetted in chains. |
c. transf. To hang up (a bird, a thing) on or as on a gibbet.
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones i. i, The same animal..may perhaps be degraded in another part, and some of his limbs gibbetted, as it were, in the vilest stall in town. 1777 Brand Pop. Antiq. 389 Some Inns still gibbet their Signs across a Town. 1822 W. Irving Braceb. Hall xxv. 212 They [the crows] are gibbetted in every corn-field. 1866 Howells Venet. Life vii. 111 A long crane with villainous pots gibbeted upon it. |
3. fig. To hold up to infamy or public
contempt. Also with
up.
to gibbet into: to bring into (an ignominious position) as by hanging on a gibbet.
| 1646 J. Whitaker Uzziah 5 God doth..gibbet his open adversaries. a 1683 Oldham On Printer 44, I mean to hang and Gibbet up thy Name. 1752 Warburton Let. to Balguy in Hurd Life (1794) 65, I had gibbeted up Julian, and he comes by night to cut him down. 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. xii, Thus [he] unknowingly gibbeted himself into infamy, when he might have otherwise quietly retired into oblivion. 1836 Southey in Cowper's Wks. II. 26 This reviewal of Cowper's first volume is one of those defunct criticisms which deserve to be disinterred and gibbeted for the sake of example. 1848 Ashley in Hodder Ld. Shaftesbury II. xvii. 274 Poor Melbourne died yesterday, and to-day he is, of course, gibbeted in the Times. This is ‘one of the new terrors of death’. 1886 T. Frost Remin. Country Journalist v. (1888) 59 Everybody..[was] apprehensive of being morally gibbeted in its pages. |
Hence
ˈgibbeted ppl. a.,
ˈgibbeting vbl. n. (in
quot. attrib.).
| 1756 L. C. in Old Maid (1764) No. 34 ¶4 Thus I hung suspended in the air..a terrible gibbeted example of curiosity. 1825 Scott Talism. xiv, I shall be a gibbeted and dishonoured corse. 1858 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vii. v. II. 291 Your road horribly decked with gibbeted thieves hanging aloft. 1875 W. Houghton Sk. Brit. Ins. 105 Stomachs of the gibbeted moles. 1891 Pall Mall G. 7 Sept. 7/2 It seems to be by the merest accident that any gibbeting irons have been preserved for our gratification, since they were left to perish with the bodies they contained. |