Tyburn tree

name

"tyburn-tree" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Tyburn tree” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
11
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A gallows, situated at Tyburn, Middlesex, (present-day Greater London), that was used for public hangings from medieval times until 1783 (when executions were moved to Newgate Prison).

Corpus desk

Index EN-tyburn-tree · Tyburn tree · English

Tyburn tree · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for Tyburn tree
PropertyValue
HeadwordTyburn tree
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Tyburn tree” in English

Tyburn treesits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Tyburn tree is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A gallows, situated at Tyburn, Middlesex, (present-day Greater London), that was used for public hangings from medieval times until 1783 (when executions were moved to Newgate Prison).".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Tyburn tree, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: So called because at one time, criminals were executed by being hung from elm trees along the banks of the Tyburn Brook (historically, often confused with the nearby Tyburn River), a tributary stream which ran through Hyde Park. The correct English form is Tyburn tree, spelled T-Y-B-U-R-N- -T-R-E-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A gallows, situated at Tyburn, Middlesex, (present-day Greater London), that was used for public hangings from medieval times until 1783 (when executions were moved to Newgate Prison).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Tyburn tree appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. If he entered London by Oxford-street,Tyburn tree would certainly attract his attention, especially when ten or twelve criminals were about to suffer in the presence of a crowd of people gathered round it, indulging themselves in the sports and pastimes usual on such occasions.
  2. 1896, Francis Watt, Tyburn Tree, W. E. Henley (editor), The New Review, Volume 15, William Heinemann, page 692, None can exactly fix the place of Tyburn Tree. […] Tyburn tree stood within a gunshot to the north-west of the Marble Arch.

Etymology

So called because at one time, criminals were executed by being hung from elm trees along the banks of the Tyburn Brook (historically, often confused with the nearby Tyburn River), a tributary stream which ran through Hyde Park.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Tyburn tree"?
"Tyburn tree" is spelled T-Y-B-U-R-N- -T-R-E-E.
What does "Tyburn tree" mean?
As a proper noun, "Tyburn tree" means: A gallows, situated at Tyburn, Middlesex, (present-day Greater London), that was used for public hangings from medieval times until 1783 (when executions were moved to Newgate Prison).
What is the origin of the word "Tyburn tree"?
So called because at one time, criminals were executed by being hung from elm trees along the banks of the Tyburn Brook (historically, often confused with the nearby Tyburn River), a tributary stream which ran through Hyde Park. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list