cilice

American  

[sil-is] / ˈsɪl ɪs /

noun

1. a garment of haircloth formerly worn by monks; a hair shirt.

2. haircloth.

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cilice British  

/ ˈsɪlɪs /

noun

1. a haircloth fabric or garment

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Etymology

Origin of cilice

before 950; < Middle French; replacing Old English cilic < Latin cilicium < Greek kilíkion, neuter of kilíkios Cilician, so called because first made of Cilician goathair

Example Sentences

He woke up at 5 a.m., wore a barbed cilice chain and flagellated himself.

From New York Times

I haven’t even gotten into the big game hunting, or the time César got Rodolfo’s wife pregnant, or the way Chema gets iced out of the family business over his sexuality, or the cilice Mariana wears on her thigh, or who tried to kill Sara.

From Slate

One Peruvian candidate has taken time to talk about his habit of wearing a wire chain, known as a cilice, every day to flagellate himself.

From Washington Times

In a recent radio interview, López Aliaga said he represses his sexual desire by thinking of the Virgin Mary and flails himself with a cilice, a sackcloth garment with points that stick into the body, a practice from early Christianity.

From Reuters

Even many Catholic conservatives are wary of Opus Dei, which they see as secretive and bizarre — some of its lay members wear a spiked chain, called a cilice, around one leg — and some are repelled by Father McCloskey’s right-wing politics, about which he blogs regularly.

From New York Times