cat-o'-nine-tails

[kat-uh-nahyn-teylz] /ˌkæt əˈnaɪnˌteɪlz/
noun, plural cat-o'-nine-tails.
1.
a whip, usually having nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle, used for flogging.
Origin
1685-95; so called in allusion to a cat's scratches
British Dictionary definitions for cat-o'-nine-tails

cat-o'-nine-tails

noun (pl) -tails
1.
a rope whip consisting of nine knotted thongs, used formerly to flog prisoners Often shortened to cat
Word Origin and History for cat-o'-nine-tails
n.

1690s, probably so called in reference to its "claws." It was a legal instrument of punishment in British Navy until 1881.