tawse definitions

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a leather strap for punishing children

Merriam Webster's

also taws noun plural but singular or plural in construction Etymology: probably from plural of obsolete taw tawed leather Date: circa 1585 British a leather strap slit into strips at the end and used especially for disciplining children

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Taws Taws, n. [See Taw to beat.] A leather lash, or other instrument of punishment, used by a schoolmaster. [Written also tawes, tawis, and tawse.] [Scot.] Never use the taws when a gloom can do the turn. --Ramsay.