Obs. rare. [Sp. (also Pg.) verdugo hangman, lash, rod, shoot, = It. verduco narrow-bladed sword.] A hangman or executioner. Also employed as a term of abuse.
a. 1616. Beaum. & Fl., Scornf. Lady, II. i. Wel. Where are my slippers Sir? Ser[vant]. Here Sir. Wel. Where Sir? have you got the pot Verdugo? have you seen the Horses Sir?
a. 1625. Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, IV. i. Contrive your beard o’th top cut like Verdugoes.
Hence † Verdugoship, the personality of a verdugo or executioner. Obs.–1
1610. B. Jonson, Alch., III. iii. His great Verdugo-ship [= a Spaniard] has not a iot of language; So much the easier to be cossin’d, my Dolly.
