san·be·ni·to (s n b -n  t )n. pl. san·be·ni·tos A garment of sackcloth worn at an auto-da-fé of the Spanish Inquisition by condemned heretics, being yellow with red crosses for the penitent and black with painted flames and devils for the impenitent. [Spanish sambenito, after San Benito, Saint Benedict of Nursia (from its similarity to the scapular supposedly introduced by him).] |
sanbenito [ˌsænbəˈniːtəʊ]
n pl -tos
1. (Clothing & Fashion) a yellow garment bearing a red cross, worn by penitent heretics in the Inquisition
2. (Clothing & Fashion) a black garment bearing flames and devils, worn by impenitent heretics at an auto-da-fé
[from Spanish San Benito Saint Benedict, an ironical allusion to its likeness to the Benedictine scapular]
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