flagellant

American  

[flaj-uh-luhnt, fluh-jel-uhnt] / ˈflædʒ ə lənt, fləˈdʒɛl ənt /

noun

1. a person who flagellates or scourges their own body for religious discipline.

2. a person who derives sexual pleasure from whipping or being whipped by another person.

3. (often initial capital letter) one of a medieval European sect of fanatics who practiced scourging in public.

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adjective

1. flagellating.

2. severely criticizing.

   a flagellant attack on the opposition party.

flagellant British  

/ ˈflædʒɪlənt, ˈflædʒɪˌleɪtə, fləˈdʒɛlənt /

noun

1. a person who whips himself or others either as part of a religious penance or for sexual gratification

2. (often capital) (in medieval Europe) a member of a religious sect who whipped themselves in public

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Other Word Forms

• flagellantism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of flagellant

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin flagellant- (stem of flagellāns ) “whipping,” present participle of flagellāre; see flagellum, -ant

Example Sentences

Her mother was just like a Flagellant and she drank coffee, and the chief thing, to be sure, they were clean in their ways.

From The Chorus Girl and Other Stories by Garnett, Constance

If I was a Flagellant now, I would don hairshirt and up flail.

From For the Term of His Natural Life by Clarke, Marcus Andrew Hislop

III In the village Shikalovo lived two dressmakers, sisters, belonging to the Flagellant sect.

From The Witch and other stories by Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich

For a time he would be the grim Protestant Flagellant, pursuing the idea of self-castigation.

From The Ragged Edge by MacGrath, Harold

The Crusades and the Flagellant revival are instances.

From The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy by Burckhardt, Jacob