strappado

[struh-pey-doh, -pah-]

noun, plural strap·pa·does.

an old form of punishment or torture in which the victim, with arms bound behind, was raised from the ground by a rope fastened to the wrists, abruptly released, then arrested with a painful jerk just before reaching the ground.
the instrument used for this purpose.

Origin of strappado

1550–60; alteration of Middle French strapade or its source, Italian strappata a sharp pull or tug, equivalent to strapp- (stem of strappare to snatch (< Gothic strappan to stretch) + -ata -ade¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for strappado

Historical Examples of strappado

No; were I at the strappado, or all the racks in the world, I would not tell you on compulsion.
The Universal Reciter
Various
I'd strappado you and then hang you within the next half-hour.
The Yeoman Adventurer
George W. Gough
Nay, rather the strappado for me, at any time, than abandonment to foolishness so crass as this would be.
The Record of Nicholas Freydon
A. J. (Alec John) Dawson
If I die, let my boy Robin have the strappado, three hours a day, to be duly paid him during life.
The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas
Dom Francisco de Quevedo
After a smart administration of the strappado, he proceeded to examine the contents of his pinafore, which was bundled round him.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;
Various

British Dictionary definitions for strappado

strappado

noun plural -does

a system of torture in which a victim was hoisted by a rope tied to his wrists and then allowed to drop until his fall was suddenly checked by the rope

Word Origin for strappado

C16: from French strapade, from Italian strappare to tug sharply, probably of Germanic origin; related to German (dialect) strapfen to make taut

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