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bastinado

bastinado

9.9
A stick used to beat the soles of someone's feet as punishment
  • noun
  • /ˌbæstəˈnɑːdoʊ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : instrumento para bastinado
  • Museum exhibits sometimes display a bastinado among other historical devices of discipline.

Examples

  • In some cultures, the bastinado was a feared instrument of corporal punishment.

  • The guard threatened him with a bastinado if he did not obey.

  • The prison guards used a bastinado on the inmates.

  • He was punished with a bastinado for his disobedience.

  • The guard used a bastinado on the prisoner to inflict punishment for his misbehavior.

  • In ancient times, the bastinado was a common method for extracting confessions from accused criminals.

  • Despite its brutality, the bastinado was often seen as an effective means of discipline in some cultures.

Synonyms

boot
vsbastinado
  • NSFW
52 9.9

A metal device used in the past to crush or heat the foot to cause pain

involves crushing or heating rather than beating with a single stick
the boot
vsbastinado
  • NSFW
5 9.9

A metal tool used in the past to crush a person's foot and leg during torture

is described as crushing or heating equipment rather than a beating implement
falanga
vsbastinado
  • NSFW
9.9

A form of torture that beats the soles of a person's feet to cause pain

names the single stick used to carry out that beating

Surface Forms

bastinado singular
bastinados plural

Etymology

Bastinado comes from Spanish and Portuguese words for a 'stick', like bastón and bastão, and it can also mean the stick used to beat the soles of the feet as punishment. So when you see bastinado as a noun, it can mean the instrument used for that punishment.