bilboes
English edit
Etymology edit
Unknown. Purported to have been invented in Bilbao, Spain, yet the device's name predates the Spanish Armada that supposedly imported it.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bilboes pl (plural only)
- An iron bar fitting around the ankles of prisoners, and having sliding shackles.
- 2001, Glen David Gold, Carter Beats The Devil:
- The bilboes looked like handcuffs that went around the ankles. The prisoner lay flat on his back, in the dirt, his feet suspended in the air by a length of iron bar to which the bilboes were fastened.