Bastinade
noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A blow with a stick or cudgel.
- 2 A sound beating with a stick or cudgel, specifically: A form of punishment among the Turks, Chinese, and others, consisting in beating an offender on the soles of his feet.
"Rudely forced to drink tea, Massachusetts in anger Spills the tea on John Bull—John falls on to bang her; Massachusetts, enraged, calls her neighbors to aid And give Master John a severe bastinade. Now, good men of the law, pray who is in fault, The one who begins or resists the assault?"
Verb
- 1 To beat in this manner.
Example
More examples"Rudely forced to drink tea, Massachusetts in anger Spills the tea on John Bull—John falls on to bang her; Massachusetts, enraged, calls her neighbors to aid And give Master John a severe bastinade. Now, good men of the law, pray who is in fault, The one who begins or resists the assault?"
Etymology
From French bastonnade.
More for "bastinade"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.