pilliwinks

American

[pil-uh-wingks] / ˈpɪl əˌwɪŋks /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

an old instrument of torture similar to the thumbscrew.

pilliwinks British

/ ˈpɪlɪˌwɪŋks /

plural noun

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