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Glite Dictionary
falanga

falanga

9.9
A form of torture that beats the soles of a person's feet to cause pain
  • noun
  • /fəˈlæŋɡə/
  • NSFW
translation icon : falanga
  • Survivors of torture often speak about the pain caused by falanga, a brutal method involving strikes to the feet.

Examples

  • The prisoner was subjected to falanga as a form of punishment for his rebellious behavior.

  • Reports revealed that the regime practiced falanga to instill fear among the captives.

  • A technique known as falanga.

    In the Dark Half (2012)

  • Homophobic attitudes toward gay males and lesbians were assessed using the Italian Scale of Homophobia (Falanga, Parisi, & Di Chiacchio, 2006).

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

bastinado
vsfalanga
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A punishment that involves beating the soles of someone's feet with a stick

is the same practice described using a different term

Surface Forms

falanga singular
falangas plural

Etymology

The word falanga comes from an old Arabic or Turkish word falaka, which named a stick or the act of 'beating the soles of the feet'. So falanga now means the form of torture where the soles of the feet are beaten.