flagellant Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who is whipped or whips himself for sexual gratification
  2. noun a person who whips himself as a religious penance

WordNet

Flag"el*lant noun
Etymology
L. flagellans, p.p. of flagellare: cf.F. flagellant. See Flagellate.
Definitions
  1. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a fanatical sect which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and maintained that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and the sacrament; -- called also disciplinant.

Webster 1913