Meanings
- historicaluncountableA form of electroshock torture, especially as used by the French during the Algerian War of 1954-1962, whereby electrodes are run from a field generator to parts of a victim's body.
The politicians were helpless. Paras used the gégène no matter how much politicians condemned it.
2007, Darius Rejali, Torture and Democracy, page 1622 more examples
It was a view that would not necessarily be shared by Algerians subjected to the gégène or having had their bellies pumped full of water during the Battle of Algiers.
1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 197Refusing to answer questions about the political affiliations of various villagers, he was subjected to the gégène.
2011, Vincent Crapanzano, The Harkis, page 68
Origin
- Frenchgégène
- Englishgégène
From French gégène.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gégène. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/g%C3%A9g%C3%A8ne
“gégène.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/g%C3%A9g%C3%A8ne. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gégène,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/g%C3%A9g%C3%A8ne.
Source: gégène on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.