Definition of Ordeals. Meaning of Ordeals. Synonyms of Ordeals

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Definition of Ordeals

Ordeal
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.
Ordeal
Ordeal Or"de*al, a. Of or pertaining to trial by ordeal.

Meaning of Ordeals from wikipedia

- peoples. As with judicial duels, and unlike most other ordeals, the accuser had to undergo the ordeal together with the accused. They stood on either side...
- 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)...
- Ordeal is a 1980 autobiography by the former **** actress Linda Lovelace, with Mike McGrady. Lovelace (real name: Linda Boreman) is a star of the...
- Such ordeals were once believed to result in a direct decision by a deity, about the guilt or innocence of the party/parties undertaking the ordeal; typically...
- Ordeal by Innocence (titled on-screen as Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence) is a three-part television drama series that was first broadcast in April...
- Ordeal by Innocence is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 3 November...
- Ordeal by Innocence is a 1984 mystery film directed by Desmond Davis. It stars Donald Sutherland, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Plummer and Sarah Miles. It...
- Ordeal in the Arctic is a television film written by Paul F. Edwards and directed by Mark Sobel. The film stars Richard Chamberlain, Catherine Mary Stewart...
- ragging an underclassman named Akram. The ordeals that Vivaan and Siya had suffered were based on the same ordeals that they inflicted on Akram - public humiliation...
- Calvaire (lit. Calvary, also known as The Ordeal) is a 2004 psychological horror film directed by Fabrice Du Welz, starring Laurent Lucas, Philippe Nahon...