lapidate means to throw stones or other objects at, as punishment, sometimes until death. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
lapidate is pronounced /ˈlæpɪˌdeɪt/.
Why “lapidate” is a great word
LAPIDATE — [Verb] To pelt or kill with stones, especially as a form of judicial or communal punishment. From the Latin lapidāre ("to throw stones at"), from lapis ("stone"). First attested in English in 1623. Unlike "stone" (a general verb lacking its formal, lethal gravity) or "execrate" (which denotes vehement denunciation without physical enactment), to lapidate is to make jurisprudence tactile and terminal. It is the dry, brutal percussion of cobbles on flesh, the chalky dust of shattered shale hanging in the air, and the cool, implacable weight of a river-stone held in a palm before its flight—a ritual that turns the most ordinary earth into an instrument of final, communal judgment.
verb
- To throw stones or other objects at, as punishment, sometimes until death.“the host (in tailcoat, grey cravat, purple vest) is lapidated by his wife while he loudly cries: "Maggie—please save a cup fer coffee in the morning."”
- To hurl insults at.“The hour-long (and far too slow-paced) show: Malice in Wonderland, by lampooning, lapidating S. J. Perelman, veteran of movie-writing stints”