peine forte et dure

noun

Crushing, an old form of punishment (torture) in which the prisoner's body was pressed with heavy weights.

OriginMiddle French peine →
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Meanings

nounpeine forte et dure (uncountable)
  1. historicaluncountablelawCrushing, an old form of punishment (torture) in which the prisoner's body was pressed with heavy weights.

    It was a solid structure, with massy door, sooner than open which in the absence of the ‘Dominie’, we would all have willingly perished by the peine forte et dure.

    1839, Edgar Allan Poe, William Wilson

Origin

  1. Middle Frenchpeine
  2. Englishpeine forte et dure

Law French, from Middle French peine forte et dure (“severe and hard punishment”).

More words from Middle French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

peine forte et dure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peine%20forte%20et%20dure

MLA

“peine forte et dure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peine%20forte%20et%20dure. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “peine forte et dure,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/peine%20forte%20et%20dure.

Source: peine forte et dure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.