'Strappado' definitions:
Definition of 'strappado'
(from WordNet)
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 [syn: strappado, strapado]
Definition of 'Strappado'
From: GCIDE
- Strappado \Strap*pa"do\, n.; pl. Strappadoes. [It. strappata a pull, the strappado, from strappare to pull, from Prov. G. strapfen: cf. G. straff tense, stretched.] 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. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Strappado'
From: GCIDE
- Strappado \Strap*pa"do\, v. t. To punish or torture by the strappado. --Milton. [1913 Webster]