Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word cilice. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word cilice, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say cilice in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word cilice you have here. The definition of the word cilice will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofcilice, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
A garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair worn close to the skin used by members of various Christian traditions as a self-imposed means of penance (repentance) and mortification of the flesh.
It was deemed meritorious to disfigure the body by neglect and filth, to extenuate it by fasting and watchfulness, to lacerate it with stripes, and to fret the wounds with cilices of horsehair.
2024 March 16, Antonia Cundy, “The Opus Dei diaries”, in FT Weekend, page 18:
All she had done was give Teena a cilice, a barbed metal chain she was to tie around her thigh for two hours every day, and a discipline, a rope whip with knotted ends she was to use on her back when she prayed the Hail Mary.
