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A boy who was whipped in the stead of a misbehaving prince in early modern Europe.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Examples
- As the whipping boy, he must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Someone punished for the errors of others.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: transferred sense
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: scapegoat, sacrificial lamb, escapegoat, fall guy, folk devil, goat, Joe Soap, patsy, whipping boy
Antonyms: none provided
someone who is punished for the errors of others
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: scapegoat
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: victim
First recorded in 1647. It is debated if this type of proxy punishment actually existed, or how widespread it was.
Across languages
Translations
29 source translations are retained for this English entry.
-
Armenian:
մտրակող տղա
(mtrakoġ tġa)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Chinese Mandarin:
替罪羊
(tìzuìyáng)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Danish:
piske dreng
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Dutch:
zondebok
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Esperanto:
vipanta knabon
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Estonian:
peksupoiss
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Finnish:
syntipukki
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
French:
lampiste
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
French:
pigeon
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
French:
souffre-douleur
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
German:
Prügelknabe
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
German:
Prügeljunge
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Hebrew:
נער מלקות
(náar malkót)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Hungarian:
pofozógép
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Hungarian:
bűnbak
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Italian:
capro espiatorio
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Latin:
plāgipatida
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Polish:
chłopiec do bicia
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Portuguese:
bode expiatório
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Romanian:
țap ispășitor
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Russian:
ма́льчик для битья́
(málʹčik dlja bitʹjá)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Russian:
козёл отпуще́ния
(kozjól otpuščénija)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Russian:
крайний
(krajnij)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Russian:
стре́лочник
(stréločnik)
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Spanish:
chivo expiatorio
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Spanish:
niño de los azotes
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Swedish:
strykpojke
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Swedish:
strykgosse
— someone punished for the errors of others
-
Turkish:
şamaroğlanı
— someone punished for the errors of others
