The act of criticizing harshly or beating someone; severe scolding or physical punishment.
From Latin fustigatio, derived from fustigare. The suffix -tion creates a noun denoting the action or result of the verb, literally meaning a beating or harsh treatment.
Medieval and Tudor writers loved this word because it sounded formal and Latin-ish, which made punishment sound more official and justified—using fancy words for harsh actions made them seem more acceptable to readers.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.