strappado

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noun

A form of torture in which the victim is hung from the ceiling by a rope attached to the hands, which are tied together behind the victim's back.

Similar
strapado
OriginItalian strappato →
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Meanings

nounstrappado (countable and uncountable, plural strappados or strappadoes)

plural strappados · plural strappadoes

  1. countableuncountableA form of torture in which the victim is hung from the ceiling by a rope attached to the hands, which are tied together behind the victim's back.

    What, vpon compulsion? No: were I at the Strappado, or all the Racks in the World, I would not tell you on compulsion.

    c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]
verbstrappado (third-person singular simple present strappados, present participle strappadoing, simple past and past participle strappadoed)

present singular third person strappados · participle present strappadoing · participle past strappadoed · past strappadoed

  1. transitiveTo torture by means of this device.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna form of torture in which the hands are tied behind a person's back and they are lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists, then allowed to drop until their fall is checked with a jerk by the rope

Similar
strapado
Broader
torturetorturing

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Italianstrappato
  2. Englishstrappado

From Italian strappato, from strappare (“to pull”).

More words from Italian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech estrapáda
  • estrapádaform of torture
Finnish strappado, vipuhirsipuu
  • strappadoform of torture
  • vipuhirsipuuform of torture
French estrapade
  • estrapadeform of torture
German Strappado, Pendel
  • Strappadoform of torture
  • Pendelform of torture
Italian strappata, tratti di fune
  • strappataform of torture
  • tratti di funeform of torture
Portuguese estrapada
  • estrapadaform of torture
Spanish garrucha
  • garruchaform of torture
Swedish strappado
  • strappadoform of torture
Cite this entry
APA

strappado. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strappado

MLA

“strappado.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strappado. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “strappado,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/strappado.

Source: strappado on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.