Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Knout \Knout\ (nout or n[=oo]t), n. [Russ. knut'; prob. of
   Scand. origin; cf. Sw. knut knot, knout, Icel. kn[=u]tr knot:
   cf. F. knout. See {Knot}.]
   A kind of whip for flogging criminals, formerly much used in
   Russia. The last is a tapering bundle of leather thongs
   twisted with wire and hardened, so that it mangles the flesh.

Knout \Knout\, v. t.
   To punish with the knout. --Brougham.

Source : WordNet®

knout
     n : a whip with a lash of leather thongs twisted with wire; used
         for flogging prisoners