Etymology Map
Back to all words

Knout

3 stages from Old Norse to English.

Today it means a whip formerly used to flog criminals in Russia

Where does the word "knout" come from? It comes from Old Norse knútr, passing through Russian before entering English (1670s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
knútr
Old Norse · 800s
"knot"
'knot'; usually traced to the Varangian Norsemen who helped found the Rus' state from the 800s
2
Stage 2 of 3
knut
Russian · 1600s
"flogging whip"
a knotted leather whip; Peter the Great's son Alexei died in 1718 after being beaten with it on his father's orders
3
Stage 3 of 3
knout
English · 1670s
"Russian whip"
English kept the French spelling; the knout stayed a byword for tsarist cruelty even after Nicholas I abolished it as a judicial punishment in 1845
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Read the full story

Knout’s story begins in Old Norse: knútr meant “knot.” 'knot'; usually traced to the Varangian Norsemen who helped found the Rus' state from the 800s. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Russian as knut. A knotted leather whip; Peter the Great's son Alexei died in 1718 after being beaten with it on his father's orders. It reached English by 1670s as knout. English kept the French spelling; the knout stayed a byword for tsarist cruelty even after Nicholas I abolished it as a judicial punishment in 1845. Today, knout means a whip formerly used to flog criminals in Russia.