bilboes

British

/ ˈbɪlbəʊz /

plural noun

a long iron bar with two sliding shackles, formerly used to confine the ankles of a prisoner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bilboes

C16: perhaps changed from _Bilbao

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

bilboes

Ye’ve got the bilboes an, and they make it bad running.

From Commodore Junk by George Manville Fenn

Here, Nicholls, this man is your prisoner; get the bilboes and clap them on him.

From The Missing Merchantman by William Heysham Overend

One was a man who obstinately refused to go to meeting, and after being warned several times was clapped into the bilboes by the tythingman.

From Ben Comee A Tale of Rogers's Rangers, 1758-59 by M. J. (Michael Joseph) Canavan

Now, sir, if you are in no great hurry, and have a mind to travel in company with a martyr, just as soon as I am free of these bilboes, we'll take the road together.

From The Amateur Gentleman by Jeffery Farnol

Two weeks later his trial was had, and he was ordered "to be set into the bilboes," and afterwards sent prisoner to England.

From England in America, 1580-1652 by Lyon Gardiner Tyler

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023