Meanings
plural whipping boys · alternative whipping-boy
- historicalA boy who was whipped in the stead of a misbehaving prince in early modern Europe.
As the whipping boy, he must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat.
- transferred senseSomeone punished for the errors of others.
In others he denounces it as rank Judaism, the Jew having at that time become for him the whipping boy for all modern humanity.
1902 [1898], [George] Bernard Shaw, The Perfect Wagnerite […] , second edition, London: Grant Richards, page 1031 more example
Once upon a time there was a little Power, the half-bankrupt wreck of a once great empire, that lost its temper with England, the whipping-boy of all the world, and behaved, as every one knows, most scandalously.
1899, Rudyard Kipling, “Judson and the Empire”, in Soldiers ThreeSynonyms: scapegoat, sacrificial lamb, escapegoat, fall guy, folk devil, goat, Joe Soap, patsy
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomeone punished for the errors of others.
Origin
First recorded in 1647. It is debated if this type of proxy punishment actually existed, or how widespread it was.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 替罪羊
- 替罪羊 (tìzuìyáng)someone punished for the errors of others
Danish piske dreng
- piske drengsomeone punished for the errors of others
Dutch zondebok
- zondeboksomeone punished for the errors of others
Esperanto vipanta knabon
- vipanta knabonsomeone punished for the errors of others
Estonian peksupoiss
- peksupoisssomeone punished for the errors of others
Finnish syntipukki
- syntipukkisomeone punished for the errors of others
French lampiste, pigeon
- lampistesomeone punished for the errors of others
- pigeonsomeone punished for the errors of others
- souffre-douleursomeone punished for the errors of others
German Prügelknabe, Prügeljunge
- Prügelknabesomeone punished for the errors of others
- Prügeljungesomeone punished for the errors of others
Hebrew נער מלקות
- נער מלקות (náar malkót)someone punished for the errors of others
Hungarian pofozógép, bűnbak
- pofozógépsomeone punished for the errors of others
- bűnbaksomeone punished for the errors of others
Italian capro espiatorio
- capro espiatoriosomeone punished for the errors of others
Latin plāgipatida
- plāgipatidasomeone punished for the errors of others
Polish chłopiec do bicia
- chłopiec do biciasomeone punished for the errors of others
Portuguese bode expiatório
- bode expiatóriosomeone punished for the errors of others
Romanian țap ispășitor
- țap ispășitorsomeone punished for the errors of others
Russian ма́льчик для битья́, козёл отпуще́ния
- ма́льчик для битья́ (málʹčik dlja bitʹjá)someone punished for the errors of others
- козёл отпуще́ния (kozjól otpuščénija)someone punished for the errors of others
- крайний (krajnij)someone punished for the errors of others
- стре́лочник (stréločnik)someone punished for the errors of others
Spanish chivo expiatorio, niño de los azotes
- chivo expiatoriosomeone punished for the errors of others
- niño de los azotessomeone punished for the errors of others
Swedish strykpojke, strykgosse
- strykpojkesomeone punished for the errors of others
- strykgossesomeone punished for the errors of others
Turkish şamaroğlanı
- şamaroğlanısomeone punished for the errors of others
Cite this entry
whipping boy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping%20boy
“whipping boy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping%20boy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whipping boy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping%20boy.
Source: whipping boy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.