strappado, strapado
(noun) a form of torture in which the hands are tied behind a person’s back and they are lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists, then allowed to drop until their fall is checked with a jerk by the rope
Source: WordNet® 3.1
strappado (countable and uncountable, plural strappados or strappadoes)
A form of torture in which the victim is hung from the ceiling by a rope attached to the hands, which are tied together behind the victim's back.
strappado (third-person singular simple present strappados, present participle strappadoing, simple past and past participle strappadoed)
(transitive) To torture by means of this device.
Source: Wiktionary
Strap*pa"do, n.; pl. Strappadoes. Etym: [It. strappata a pull, the strappado, from strappare to pull, from Prov. G. strapfen: cf. G. straff tense, stretched.]
Definition: A military punishment formerly practiced, which consisted in drawing an offender to the top of a beam and letting him fall to the length of the rope, by which means a limb was often dislocated. Shak.
Strap*pa"do, v. t.
Definition: To punish or torture by the strappado. Milton.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
23 November 2024
(adjective) concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations; “theoretical science”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
