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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

In those days, prison was designed for punishment and was stocked with its own supply of whipping implements such as cat-o'-nine-tails and birch rods.

From BBC

Enveloping himself in a cloak, with a cat-o'-nine-tails in his hand, he awaits developments.

When the captain was once more sure of his command, "Jack, a Swede, was taken from his confinement, lashed up, and whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails, then sent to duty."

Then out came the cat-o'-nine-tails again, and he fell to flogging him as fast as he could.

The first mate lashed the line forward with a cat-o'-nine-tails, positioning them along the scuppers.

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