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definitions

flagellation

[flaj-uh-ley-shuh n]
See more synonyms for flagellation on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the act or process of flagellating.
  2. a masochistic or sadistic act in which the participants receive erotic stimulation from whipping or being whipped.

Origin of flagellation

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin flagellātiōn-, stem of flagellātiō. See flagellate, -ion
Related formsself-flag·el·la·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flagellation

whipping, spanking, thrashing, beating, caning, flailing, flagellation, flogging

Examples from the Web for flagellation

Contemporary Examples of flagellation

Historical Examples of flagellation

  • Flagellation for thirty-three and a half days was held to purge from all sin.

    Folkways

    William Graham Sumner

  • Finally, we must behold: imprisonment by the authorities; the third degree and flagellation.

    Penrod

    Booth Tarkington

  • Flagellation by itself was regarded as one of the lightest of penances.

  • New pose; new start of the flagellation: finally the female opens.

  • Henri returned, which was a signal for the flagellation to recommence.

    Chicot the Jester

    Alexandre Dumas, Pere

Word Origin and History for flagellation
n.

early 15c., "the scourging of Christ," from French flagellation or directly from Latin flagellationem (nominative flagellatio) "a scourging," from past participle stem of flagellare (see flagellum).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
flagellation in Medicine

flagellation

[flăj′ə-lā′shən]
n.
  1. Whipping oneself or another as a means of arousing or heightening sexual feeling.
  2. The flagellar arrangement on an organism.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.