cangue

British

/ kæŋ /

noun

(formerly in China) a large wooden collar worn by petty criminals as a punishment

"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 cangue

C18: from French, from Portuguese canga yoke

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.

As in the English pillory, the name of the man and the nature of his offence are inscribed on the cangue.

From Project Gutenberg

That thing that looked like a tree box is what they call a cangue.

From Project Gutenberg

Said a dōshin—"His antics in the cangue will find small scope."

From Project Gutenberg

Here I saw for the first time in my life a man carrying a cangue, and a horrible, sickening feeling seized me as I tramped through the densely-packed street and watched the poor fellow.

From Project Gutenberg

The cangue, if its wearers were properly fed and screened from the sun, is rather a disgrace than a cruel mode of punishment.

From Project Gutenberg

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