scaphIsm

[Fr. scaphisme; Gr. skapheuō = to lay a person in a trench or trough, from skaphé = a trough; skaptō = to dig out, to hollow.] A barbarous punishment inflicted on criminals among the Persians, by confining them in a hollow tree, in which five holes were made, one for the head, and two each for the legs and arms. The exposed parts were smeared with honey to invite the wasps, and in this situation the criminal was left to die. scăph'-ite, s. [SCAPHITES.] Any individual of the genus Scaphites (q. v.). -ites.]