noun
- a whip with a lash of leather thongs formerly used for punishment in Russia
Usage: historical
verb
- to flog with a knout
Usage: historical
Examples
- The czar’s guards carried a knout as a symbol of authority.
- Prisoners feared the painful lash of the knout.
- The historical museum displayed an authentic Russian knout.
- In old Russia, criminals were knouted as punishment.
- The leather thongs of the knout left terrible marks.
- Guards would knout those who disobeyed orders.