English to English
adjective
- Of or pertaining to trial by ordeal.
source: Webster 1913
noun
- a severe or trying experience
source: WordNet 3.0
- a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence
source: WordNet 3.0
- An ancient form of test to determine guilt or innocence, by appealing to a supernatural decision, -- once common in Europe, and still practiced in the East and by savage tribes.
source: Webster 1913
