knout

whip

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

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A knout is a type of whip, often made with leather thongs twisted with wire. It was historically used in czarist Russia as a form of punishment for criminals. The word "knout" can also be used as a verb, meaning to strike with such a whip or to punish by whipping. The term was first recorded in English in 1716, with its use as a verb appearing later, in 1768. The origin of the word is Russian, likely stemming from Scandinavian roots related to the word for "knot."12

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flogging
The Russian knout, consisting of a number of dried and hardened thongs of rawhide interwoven with wire—the wires often being hooked and sharpened so that they tore the flesh—was even more painful and deadly. A particularly painful, though not so deadly, type of flogging was the bastinado,…
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The Russian knout, consisting of a number of dried and hardened thongs of rawhide interwoven with wire—the wires often being hooked and sharpened so that they tore the flesh—was even more painful and deadly. A particularly painful, though not so deadly, type of flogging was the bastinado,…
Read More