Strappado

[It. strappata, a pull, the strappado, from strappare, to pull, Prov. Ger. strappen; O. Sp. estrapada, Fr. estrapade, O. Fr. strapade.] A military punishment formerly practiced, which consisted in drawing an offender to the top of a beam, and letting him fall, by which means a limb was sometimes dislocated. Shak.