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flagellant

 [flaj-uh-luhnt, fluh-jel-uhnt]   Origin

flag·el·lant

   [flaj-uh-luhnt, fluh-jel-uhnt]
noun
1.
a person who flagellates or scourges himself or herself for religious discipline.
2.
a person who derives sexual pleasure from whipping or being whipped by another person.
3.
(often initial capital letter) one of a medieval European sect of fanatics who practiced scourging in public.
adjective
4.
flagellating.
5.
severely criticizing: a flagellant attack on the opposition party.
Origin:
1555–65; < Latin flagellant- (stem of flagellāns) whipping, present participle of flagellāre. See flagellum, -ant

Related forms
flag·el·lant·ism, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To flagellant
Collins
World English Dictionary
flagellant or flagellator (ˈflædʒɪlənt, fləˈdʒɛlənt, ˈflædʒɪˌleɪtə)
 
—n
1.  a person who whips himself or others either as part of a religious penance or for sexual gratification
2.  (often capital) (in medieval Europe) a member of a religious sect who whipped themselves in public
 
[C16: from Latin flagellāre to whip, from flagellum]
 
flagellator or flagellator
 
—n
 
[C16: from Latin flagellāre to whip, from flagellum]
 
'flagellantism or flagellator
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

flagellant
late 16c., from L. flagellantem, prp. of flagellare (see flagellation).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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