pillory
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
pillory/ˈpɪləri/
▶noun (pl. pillories) a wooden framework with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were formerly imprisoned and exposed to public abuse. ▶verb (pillories, pillorying, pilloried)
- 1 put in a pillory.
- 2 attack or ridicule publicly.
– origin ME: from OFr. pilori, prob. from Provençal espilori (perh. rel. to a Catalan word meaning ‘peephole’).
'pillory' also found in these Oxford entries:
