A chair or stool used in medieval times to publicly shame and punish people (usually women) accused of sexual offenses, lewdness, or being a scold, often by dunking them in water.
From 'cuck' (possibly from 'cuckquean' or 'cuckold') + 'stool' (a chair); also called a 'cucking stool'; the punishment was especially common in England from medieval times through the 18th century.
The cuckstool was a horrifying public shaming device that Europe used to control women's sexuality and speech—it's a grim reminder that our words for deviance have always been tied to power structures and punishment.
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