kia quen

9.9

A way of torturing someone's foot by trapping it between bamboo pieces and crushing it

noun

Offensive

: bastinado

Historical records describe kia quen as a particularly cruel punishment in ancient China.

Examples

The museum displayed an exhibit explaining how kia quen was carried out on prisoners.
During his imprisonment, he suffered the painful ordeal of kia quen.
The ancient practice of kia quen was feared by many.
Did they really use kia quen in historical China?
Historical records describe kia quen as a particularly cruel form of torture in ancient China.
During his imprisonment, he endured the horrific punishment of kia quen.
The museum's exhibit highlighted the brutal details of kia quen, a method used against condemned prisoners.

Synonyms

boot

vskia quen

NSFW

7 9.9

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

is a specific Chinese clamping method that crushes feet rather than a general device

the boot

vskia quen

NSFW

1 9.9

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

is a specific clamping torture using bamboo rather than any general device

to bastinado

vskia quen

Offensive

9.9

To beat the soles of someone's feet as a form of punishment

uses clamping and crushing rather than striking the soles with blows

Surface Forms

kia quen singular

kia quens plural

Morphology

kia + quen

Neither 'kia' nor 'quen' are recognisable English words or have dictionary definitions here, and the compound names a specific historical torture method whose meaning is cultural and lexical rather than compositional. Because there is no transparent semantic relation between the parts and the described practice, a B1 learner knowing the surface forms would not be able to derive the meaning.

Etymology

Kia quen comes from an old Chinese punishment where a person's foot was trapped between bamboo sticks and crushed. So kia quen means a cruel method of foot torture.