σταυρῶσαι, [3 verses](verb aor inf act) "To crucify" is stauroo, which means "to stake," "to be fenced with poles" or "piles driven into a foundation." As a method of execution, it is translated both as "to hang" as from a gallows, and "to impale" on a stake. It is from the root, staros, which means "an upright pole or stake." This term was used for a stake (or "pale") used for impaling and with the Christian era, the cross. -- "Crucify" mean literally "to stake," that is, to drive a stake into the ground, and  more specifically "to be fenced with poles" or "drive piles for a foundation."As a method of execution, it is translated both as "to hang" as from a gallows, and "to impale" on a stake. It is the Greek word for "stake," though it is often translated as "cross" in the Gospels. The Greek verb refers to driving a stake in the ground and was commonly used to describe building a fence. The phrase often translated as "take up your cross" in the Gospels actually means "pull up your stakes," which could mean either fence posts or the stakes or poles that hold up a tent, which is more the source of the English phrase.