Definition of Ordeal tree. Meaning of Ordeal tree. Synonyms of Ordeal tree

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Definition of Ordeal tree

Ordeal tree
Ordeal Or"de*al ([^o]r"d[-e]*al), n. [AS. ord[=a]l, ord[=ae]l, a judgment; akin to D. oordeel, G. urteil, urtheil; orig., what is dealt out, the prefix or- being akin to [=a]- compounded with verbs, G. er-, ur-, Goth. us-, orig. meaning, out. See Deal, v. & n., and cf. Arise, Ort.] 1. An ancient form of test to determine guilt or innocence, by appealing to a supernatural decision, -- once common in Europe, and still practiced in the East and by savage tribes. Note: In England ordeal by fire and ordeal by water were used, the former confined to persons of rank, the latter to the common people. The ordeal by fire was performed, either by handling red-hot iron, or by walking barefoot and blindfold over red-hot plowshares, laid at unequal distances. If the person escaped unhurt, he was adjudged innocent; otherwise he was condemned as guilty. The ordeal by water was performed, either by plunging the bare arm to the elbow in boiling water, an escape from injury being taken as proof of innocence, or by casting the accused person, bound hand and foot, into a river or pond, when if he floated it was an evidence of guilt, but if he sunk he was acquitted. It is probable that the proverbial phrase, to go through fire and water, denoting severe trial or danger, is derived from the ordeal. See Wager of battle, under Wager. 2. Any severe trial, or test; a painful experience. Ordeal bean. (Bot.) See Calabar bean, under Calabar. Ordeal root (Bot.) the root of a species of Strychnos growing in West Africa, used, like the ordeal bean, in trials for witchcraft. Ordeal tree (Bot.), a poisonous tree of Madagascar (Tanghinia, or Cerbera, venenata). Persons suspected of crime are forced to eat the seeds of the plumlike fruit, and criminals are put to death by being pricked with a lance dipped in the juice of the seeds.

Meaning of Ordeal tree from wikipedia

- Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused (called a "proband") was determined by subjecting them...
- ordeal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Ordeal may refer to: Trial by ordeal, a religious judicial practice to determine "the will of God" Ordeal (autobiography)...
- involves the drinking of a poisonous concoction made from the bark of the "Ordeal Tree", or erythrophleum suaveolens. Another involves the rubbing of a red-hot...
- brutal harvest of India's 'suicide tree'". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 May 2024. Robb, George L. (1957). "The Ordeal Poisons of Madagascar and Africa"...
- Erythrophleum suaveolens, also known as the ordeal tree, is a species of flowering plant that can be found across most of tropical Africa. The species...
- Erythrophleum lasianthum, the Ma****land ordeal tree, is a tree with a localized range in the endangered lowland forests of southeastern Africa. It is...
- The tangena ordeal was a form of trial by ordeal practiced in Madagascar to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused party. The trial utilized seeds...
- from the bark of the s****wood tree and administering it to the accused. In order to create the drink, bark of the ordeal tree was simply s****ed, powdered...
- Happy Tree Friends is an animated series created and developed by Rhode Montijo, Kenn Navarro, and Warren Graff for Mondo Media. A total of six seasons...
- (Newtonia buchananii), Chirinda stinkwood (Celtis mildbraedii), Forest ordeal tree (Erythrophleum suaveolens), and Panga-panga (Millettia stuhlmannii),...