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View synonyms for cat-o'-nine-tails

cat-o'-nine-tails

[ kat-uh-nahyn-teylz ]

noun

, plural cat-o'-nine-tails.
  1. a whip, usually having nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle, used for flogging.


cat-o'-nine-tails

noun

  1. a rope whip consisting of nine knotted thongs, used formerly to flog prisoners Often shortened tocat
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of cat-o'-nine-tails1

First recorded in 1685–95; so called in allusion to a cat's scratches
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Example Sentences

The old gentleman was clad in clerical black, with his cat-o-nine tails thrust into his girdle like a sword.

This law meant the use of the cat-o-nine tails as a regular punishment, but did not prohibit blows to enforce immediate obedience.

Pity we left the cat-o-nine-tails out on the boat, said the second man.

You have forgotten it; but in my beardless days, I offended Mr. Athelstone in a way that deserved a cat-o-nine-tails.

As soon as ever I uncovered myself, they laid on to my back with a rope made into a cat-o-nine-tails.

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