Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A barbarous punishment inflicted among the Persians, by confining the victim in a hollow tree.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An ancient mode of punishing criminals among the Persians, by confining the victim in a trough, with his head and limbs smeared with honey or the like, and exposed to the sun and to insects until he died.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A form of
execution , among the ancientPersians , in which the victim is fastened into a hollow boat,force-fed andslathered in honey and milk and exposed to insects until the victim's death.
Etymologies
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Examples
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The ancient Persians developed a gruesome practice called scaphism, which involved force-feeding a person milk and honey, lashing him to a boat or hollow tree trunk, and then allowing flies to infest the victim's anus and increasingly gangrenous flesh.
Latest Articles 2009
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In my more barbaric moments I toy with the idea of bringing back the death penalty for crimes like this - but not execution by hanging - I was thinking execution by scaphism.
Kiwiblog 2009
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In my more barbaric moments I toy with the idea of bringing back the death penalty for crimes like this - but not execution by hanging - I was thinking execution by scaphism.
Kiwiblog 2009
uselessness commented on the word scaphism
Evil. Absolutely evil.
October 15, 2007
oroboros commented on the word scaphism
Boy, I'll say! Ugh 'n eewww.
October 15, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word scaphism
Bloody hell, who THINKS of this stuff?! *is mad that anyone ever did this to another person*
(originally, mistakenly posted on Reesetee's list page instead of here. Oops!)
October 15, 2007
jmjarmstrong commented on the word scaphism
JM cannot quite believe that there is a word for death by being covered in honey and left in the hot sun = scaphism.
February 1, 2009
gangerh commented on the word scaphism
Oh death where is thy sting?
May 14, 2010