Knout
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A knout /ˈnaʊt/ (Russian: кнут, Russian pronunciation: [knut]) is a Russian whip that consists of a rawhide thong or a rope attached to a long wooden handle. Commonly used for prodding horses or cattle, knouts were also used for flagellation as a corporal punishment in Russian history. The English word is a spelling-pronunciation of a French transliteration of the Russian word кнут (knut), which means "whip".
Etymology
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg/220px-%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg)
The word may be derived from the Swedish knutpiska, a kind of whip with knots. The stem knut is of generic Germanic origin; compare with the German Knute, Dutch knoet (both meaning knout) and with Old Norse knutr, Anglo-Saxon cnotta and English knot.[citation needed]
For corporal punishment
[edit]According to Brockhaus and Efron, a typical knout used by Russian executioners consisted of a wooden handle about half arshin 35 cm (14 in) to which attached was a thick braided rawhide piece, one arshin 70 cm (28 in) long. The latter piece ended in a metal ring, to which was attached a wide rawhide belt made as long, also of one arshin length with a stiffened beak-like end. The stiff tail [1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Jean-Baptiste_Le_Prince%2C_Supplice_du_knout_ordinaire_%281766%29.png/220px-Jean-Baptiste_Le_Prince%2C_Supplice_du_knout_ordinaire_%281766%29.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Jean-Baptiste_Le_Prince%2C_Supplice_du_grand_knout_%28c._1765%29.png/220px-Jean-Baptiste_Le_Prince%2C_Supplice_du_grand_knout_%28c._1765%29.png)
Knouts were used in Russia for flogging as formal corporal punishment of criminals and political offenders. The victim was tied to a post or on a triangle of wood and stripped, receiving the specified number of strokes on the back. A sentence of 100 or 120 lashes was equivalent to a death sentence.[citation needed]
Emperor Nicholas I abolished punishment by knout in 1845, after years of deliberation, and replaced it with the pleti,[1] a lighter whip, commonly with three tails, which was used previously for punishment as well.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. .
- ^ Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. .
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Knout". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
[edit]The dictionary definition of knout at Wiktionary