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pilliwinks

American  
[pil-uh-wingks] / ˈpɪl əˌwɪŋks /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

  1. an old instrument of torture similar to the thumbscrew.

pilliwinks British  
/ ˈpɪlɪˌwɪŋks /

plural noun

  1. a medieval instrument of torture for the fingers and thumbs

"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

Etymology

Origin of pilliwinks

1350–1400; Scots variant of late Middle English pyrwykes, pyrewinkes < ?

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.