noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A form of torture used against suspected rebels during the period of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, in which hot pitch or tar was poured into a conical paper "cap", which was then forced onto the bound suspect's head, allowed to cool, and rapidly removed, taking with it a portion of the skin. uncountable

Etymology

From pitch + capping.

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