pilliwinks

/ˈpɪlɪwɪŋks/

Etymology

From Middle English pirewinkes (“instrument of torture for squeezing the thumbs, thumbscrew”) [and other forms]; further origin unknown. It has been suggested that the word is a variant of Middle English pervink, pervinke (“periwinkle (plant; Vinca minor or Vinca major); (figuratively) evil man”), but the Oxford English Dictionary doubts this due to the difference in meaning. Compare Swedish pille-, related to pilla (“fiddle with the fingers”).

Why this word is great

PILLIWINKS — [Noun] A medieval instrument of torture designed to crush fingers or thumbs. From Middle English pirewinkes ("instrument of torture for squeezing the thumbs, thumbscrew"), further origin unknown; possibly related to Swedish pilla ("fiddle with the fingers"). Unlike "peine forte et dure" (which denotes prolonged crushing under weights) or "scarpines" (a spiked boot for the feet), pilliwinks specializes in the intimate dismantling of hands. It is the cold iron jaws clamping shut, the muffled crack of phalanges yielding, and the interrogator's bored gaze as tendons fray—proof that even in suffering, precision is its own art.

noun

  1. A torture device for squeezing the fingers; a thumbscrew.“[H]er maiſter to the intent that he might the better trie and finde out the truth of the ſame, did with the help of others, torment her with the torture of the Pilliwinkes upon her fingers, which is a grieuous torture, [...]”