sjambok
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a heavy whip of rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide
-
a stiff synthetic version of this, used in crowd control
verb
Etymology
Origin of sjambok
1820–30; < Afrikaans s ( j ) ambok < Malay cambuk whip < Hindi cābuk
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Krool was about to shrug his shoulders, but his glance fell on the sjambok, and he made an ugly gesture with his lean fingers.
From The Judgment House by Parker, Gilbert
Ibomvu!” yelled Revell, in return, making his sjambok whistle through the air as he flourished it round his head.
From A Veldt Vendetta by Mitford, Bertram
Lord Islington described this as "perilously near forced labour;" His Grace of Canterbury facetiously suggested that the chiefs' idea of influence would be the sjambok; and Lord Emmott talked of "Prussianism."
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, July 21, 1920 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
Her glance suddenly caught a sjambok lying along two nails on the wall.
From The Judgment House by Parker, Gilbert
Laying the sjambok on the table among the books in delicate bindings and the bowls of flowers, she stood and looked at it with confused senses for a long time.
From The Judgment House by Parker, Gilbert
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.