corporal punishment

See more synonyms for corporal punishment on Thesaurus.com

noun

Law. physical punishment, as flogging, inflicted on the body of one convicted of a crime: formerly included the death penalty, sentencing to a term of years, etc.
physical punishment, as spanking, inflicted on a child by an adult in authority.

Origin of corporal punishment

First recorded in 1575–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for corporal punishment

whipping, spanking, beating, flogging, flagellation

British Dictionary definitions for corporal punishment

corporal punishment

noun

punishment of a physical nature, such as caning, flogging, or beating

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