bastinado

/,bæsti'neidou/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A form of punishment or torture: This refers to the act of beating the soles of a person's feet with a stick, cane, or similar instrument.
    • The instrument used for such a beating: This can also refer to the specific club, cudgel, or stick used to administer the beating.

  2. Verb:

    • To inflict a bastinado: This means to beat someone, specifically on the soles of their feet, as a method of punishment or torture.
Examples of Usage

  • Noun (Punishment):

    • The prisoner was subjected to the bastinado as an interrogation method.
    • Historical accounts describe the bastinado as a common punishment in some regions.

  • Noun (Instrument):

    • The guard picked up the heavy bastinado.
    • The weapon was a simple wooden bastinado.

  • Verb:

    • The captors threatened to bastinado the spy if he did not talk.
    • It was a cruel practice to bastinado offenders in the public square.
Advanced Usage
  • Historical/Legal Context: The term is almost exclusively used in historical, legal, or descriptive contexts concerning corporal punishment, interrogation, or torture. It is not used in everyday modern conversation.
    • The treaty sought to ban archaic punishments like the bastinado.
Variants and Related Words
  • Bastinade: An alternative, less common spelling for the noun and verb forms.
  • Falanga: A modern term for a similar form of torture involving beating the feet, often used in political contexts.
Synonyms
  • Flogging (specifically when referring to a beating, though not limited to the feet).
  • Caning (specifically with a cane, though not limited to the feet).
  • Cudgeling (beating with a short, thick stick).
Related Phrases
  • To administer the bastinado: A formal phrase meaning to carry out this punishment.
    • The sentence was to administer the bastinado twenty times.
  • To be under the bastinado: A phrase describing the state of receiving this punishment.
    • The victim was under the bastinado for what seemed like an eternity.
Noun
  1. a form of torture in which the soles of the feet are beaten with whips or cudgels
  2. a cudgel used to give someone a beating on the soles of the feet
Verb
  1. beat somebody on the soles of the feet

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