cyphonism

English

Etymology

Ancient Greek κυφωνισμός (kuphōnismós)

Noun

cyphonism (uncountable)

  1. An ancient form of punishment involving a sort of wooden pillory by which the victim's neck was bent or weighed downward.
  2. (formerly, by confusion) An ancient punishment in which the criminal was smeared with honey and exposed to insects.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for cyphonism in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Anagrams
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