1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/scourge

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SCOURGE (Ital. scoriada, from Lat. excoriare, to flay, corium, skin), a whip or lash, especially one used for the infliction of punishment. The typical scourge (Lat. flagellum) has several thongs or lashes attached to a single handle, as in the modern “cat-o'-nine-tails.” The scourge or flail, and the crook, are the two symbols of power and domination depicted in the hands of Osiris in ancient Egyptian monuments; these show the unchanging form of the instrument throughout the ages.

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