# Knout

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{{short description|Type of whip}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2020}}
{{corporal punishment}}

A '''knout''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|aʊ|t}} ({{langx|ru|кнут}}, {{IPA|ru|knut}}) is a Russian [whip](/source/whip) that consists of a [rawhide](/source/rawhide_(material)) thong or a rope attached to a long wooden handle. Commonly used for prodding horses or cattle, knouts were also used for [flagellation](/source/flagellation) as a [corporal punishment](/source/corporal_punishment) in Russian history. The English word is a spelling-pronunciation of a French transliteration of the Russian word кнут (''knut''), which means "whip".

==Etymology==
thumb|left|Punishment with a knout

The word may be derived from the [Swedish](/source/Swedish_language) ''knutpiska'', a kind of whip with ''knots''. The [stem](/source/word_stem) ''knut'' is of generic [Germanic](/source/Germanic_languages) origin; compare with the German ''Knute'', Dutch ''knoet'' (both meaning knout) and with Old Norse ''knutr'', Anglo-Saxon ''cnotta'' and English ''knot''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=knot {{!}} Etymology of knot by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/knot |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en}}</ref>

==For corporal punishment==
According to  ''Brockhaus and Efron'', a typical knout used by Russian executioners consisted of a  wooden handle about half ''[arshin](/source/arshin_(length))'' ({{convert|35|cm|in|abbr=on}}) to which attached was a thick braided rawhide piece, one ''arshin'' ({{convert|70|cm|in|abbr=on}}) long. The latter piece ended in a metal ring, to which was attached a wide rawhide belt made as long, also of one ''arshin'' length with a stiffened beak-like end.<ref name=efron>{{cite Efron|Кнут, орудие наказания}}</ref>

[[Image:Jean-Baptiste Le Prince, Supplice du knout ordinaire (1766).png|thumb|"Punishment with an Ordinary Knout" (1766), depicting the flogging of [Natalia Lopukhina](/source/Natalia_Lopukhina)]]
thumb|"Punishment with a Great Knout" (1765)

Knouts were used in Russia for flogging as formal [corporal punishment](/source/Judicial_corporal_punishment) of criminals and political offenders. The victim was tied to a post or on a triangle of wood and stripped, receiving the specified number of strokes on the back. A sentence of 100 or 120 lashes was equivalent to a death sentence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=de Lagny |first=Germain |title=The Knout and the Russians: Or, the Muscovite Empire, the Czar, and his people |date=1854 |publisher=Harper&Brothers |lccn=16010158|oclc=2959335 |series=Russia observed |location=New York |language=}}</ref>{{pn|date=February 2025}}

Emperor [Nicholas I](/source/Nicholas_I_of_Russia) abolished punishment by knout in 1845, after years of deliberation, and replaced it with the ''pleti'',<ref name=efron/> a lighter whip, commonly with three tails, which was used previously for punishment as well.<ref>{{cite Efron|Плети}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [Nagaika](/source/Nagaika)

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{1911|wstitle=Knout}}

== External links ==
* {{Wiktionary-inline|knout}}

Category:Whips
Category:Whipping

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Knout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knout) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knout?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.