knout

[ nout ]

/ naʊt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR knout ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a whip with a lash of leather thongs, formerly used in Russia for flogging criminals.

verb (used with object)

to flog with the knout.

Nearby words

knotting, knotty, knotty rhatany, knotweed, knotwork, knout, know, know a thing or two, know all the answers, know beans, know better

Origin of knout

1710–20; < French < Russian knut, Old Russian < Old Norse knūtr knot

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for knout

Moens was condemned to be beheaded, and his sister (who was the empress's favourite) to receive eleven strokes of the knout.
The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia|Voltaire
I had seen similar scars before, and knew there was but one weapon in the world—the knout—capable of making them.
The Red Symbol|John Ironside
The celebrated punishment of the "knout" partakes a good deal of this same character of suffering.
Oak Openings|James Fenimore Cooper
For disloyalty to the emperor, Katina was condemned to receive fifteen strokes of the knout.
The Shadow of the Czar|John R. Carling

He said that one of his purposes in staying in town, was to 'knout' me every day—didn't he?
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846|Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett

British Dictionary definitions for knout

knout

/ (naʊt) /

noun

a stout whip used formerly in Russia as an instrument of punishment

Word Origin for knout

C17: from Russian knut, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse knūtr knot

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

knout

noun

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of knout

Examples from the Web for knout

British Dictionary definitions for knout

knout

noun

Word Origin for knout