cilice
/ˈsɪlɪs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair worn close to the skin used by members of various Christian traditions as a self-imposed means of penance (repentance) and mortification of the flesh.
Example Sentences
- "It was deemed meritorious to disfigure the body by neglect and filth, to extenuate it by fasting and watchfulness, to lacerate it with stripes, and to fret the wounds with cilices of horsehair."
- "All she had done was give Teena a cilice, a barbed metal chain she was to tie around her thigh for two hours every day, and a discipline, a rope whip with knotted ends she was to use on her back when she prayed the Hail Mary."
Etymology
From French cilice, from Latin cilicium (“clothing made of goatskin”), from Cilicia where it originates from.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: cilice, cilicium
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Religion.
Inflected Forms
Phrases
chain cilice
hairshirt cilice