gallow
/ˈɡæləʊ/verb, noun
gallow is spelled G-A-L-L-O-W: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, gallow means “To frighten, alarm, scare, or terrify” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gallow?
| Letters | 6: G-A-L-L-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 159,707th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is gallow?
Gallow appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gallow?
- /ˈɡæləʊ/
Gallow has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gallow.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of gallow
- gallows present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- gallowing participle, present
- gallowed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gallow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To frighten, alarm, scare, or terrify.
- 2
To drive or scare away.
- 3
To confuse with noise.
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of gallow glyph.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does gallow come from?
From Middle English *galowen, *galewen, *galwen (attested in begalewen (“to frighten”)), from Old English *gǣlwan, *gēlwan (attested in āgǣlwed, āgēlwed (“stupified, astonished, disconcerted”)), of unknown origin. Alternative forms gally, galley perhaps influenced by Middle English galyen, galien, variants of galen (“to cry out, shout, make a harsh cry”), from Old English galan (“to sing, call”). Compare also Old Norse gala (“to sing, shout, crow”), Old Norse gjalla (“to yell, shout”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).