Found 2 items, similar to Strappado.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: strappado strappado n : torture in which a person's hands and tied behind their back and they are lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists and that allowed to drop until their fall is checked by the rope [also: strappadoes (pl)]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Strappado Strappado \Strap*pa"do\, v. t. To punish or torture by the strappado. --Milton. [1913 Webster] Strappado \Strap*pa"do\, n.; pl. Strappadoes. [It. strappata a pull, the strappado, from strappare to pull, from Prov. G. strapfen: cf. G. straff tense, stretched.] A military punishment formerly practiced, which consisted in drawing an offender to the top of a beam and letting him fall to the length of the rope, by which means a limb was often dislocated. --Shak. [1913 Webster]