What does "cat-o'-nine-tails" mean?

A scourge (multi-tail whip) having nine, often knotted, whipcords, formerly used for flogging as naval punishment.

What is a synonym for "cat-o'-nine-tails"?

Common synonyms include: cat, whip.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A scourge (multi-tail whip) having nine, often knotted, whipcords, formerly used for flogging as naval punishment.
"But I do tell you one thing, if you ſhould give ſuch Language at Sea, you'd have a Cat o' Nine-tails laid croſs your Shoulders."
2
a whip with nine knotted cords wordnet
3
A similarly constructed leather nine-tail whip, as used in British penal colonies and certain armies.

"But I do tell you one thing, if you ſhould give ſuch Language at Sea, you'd have a Cat o' Nine-tails laid croſs your Shoulders."

From cat + o' + nine + tails, cat referring to the inflicted wounds resembling the scratches of a cat. First attested in 1695.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.