sanbenito

American  

[san-buh-nee-toh] / ˌsæn bəˈni toʊ /

noun

PLURAL

sanbenitos

1. an ornamented garment worn by a condemned heretic at an auto-da-f é.

2. a penitential garment worn by a confessed heretic, of yellow for the penitent, of black for the impenitent.

---

sanbenito British  

/ ˌsænbəˈniːtəʊ /

noun

1. a yellow garment bearing a red cross, worn by penitent heretics in the Inquisition

2. a black garment bearing flames and devils, worn by impenitent heretics at an auto-da-fé

---

Etymology

Origin of sanbenito

1550–60; < Spanish, named after San Benito Saint Benedict, from its resemblance to the scapular believed to have been introduced by him

Example Sentences

Referencing “Sanbenito” cloaks, which were used to shame criminals during the Spanish Inquisition, Salcedo’s shawls will never keep their wearers warm.

From Washington Post

Bad Bunny @sanbenito 🐰 was spotted today on a film shoot in Boyle Heights!

From Los Angeles Times

Sanbenito, san-be-nē′tō, n. a garment grotesquely decorated with flames, devils, &c., worn by the victims of the Inquisition—at an auto-de-fe—for public recantation or execution.

From Project Gutenberg

Valer's sanbenito was displayed for a long time in the metropolitan church of Seville.

From Project Gutenberg

"Good God!" thought Da Costa, sickening as he remembered the auto-da-fé he had seen at Lisbon in his boyhood, when De la Asunçao, the Franciscan Jew monk, clothed in the Sanbenito, was solemnly burnt in the presence of the king, the queen, the court, and the mob.

From Project Gutenberg