strappado

[ struh-pey-doh, -pah- ]

noun,plural strap·pa·does.
  1. an old form of punishment or torture in which the victim, with arms bound behind, was raised from the ground by a rope fastened to the wrists, abruptly released, then arrested with a painful jerk just before reaching the ground.

  2. the instrument used for this purpose.

Origin of strappado

1
1550–60; alteration of Middle French strapade or its source, Italian strappata a sharp pull or tug, equivalent to strapp- (stem of strappare to snatch (<Gothic strappan to stretch) + -ata-ade1

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British Dictionary definitions for strappado

strappado

/ (strəˈpeɪdəʊ, -ˈpɑː-) /


nounplural -does
  1. a system of torture in which a victim was hoisted by a rope tied to his wrists and then allowed to drop until his fall was suddenly checked by the rope

Origin of strappado

1
C16: from French strapade, from Italian strappare to tug sharply, probably of Germanic origin; related to German (dialect) strapfen to make taut

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