waterboardingn.
/ˈwɔːtəˌbɔːdɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈwɔdərˌbɔrdɪŋ/, /ˈwɑdərˌbɔrdɪŋ/ 1. U.S. Apparently: boarding used to protect a building from rain. Cf. water board n. 1a. rare.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > structures for throwing off rainwater
water board1372
water table1428
water tabling1520
weatherboard1568
weather-spar1632
throat1736
weathering1739
creasing1823
weather-table1839
dashboard1881
watershed1886
waterboarding1927
1927 Oak Parker (Oak Park, Illinois) 15 July 32/2 The waterboarding being dry and badly in need of paint, a great deal is going to be required to cover the building.
2. Originally U.S. A form of torture, typically used as an interrogation technique, in which a person is strapped head downward and face up to an inclined board or bench, the mouth and nose covered, and large quantities of water poured over the face, in order to simulate the experience of drowning. Also: any of various similar forms of torture. Cf. water board n. 4.
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2004 N.Y. Times 13 May a1/5 C.I.A. interrogators used graduated levels of force, including a technique known as ‘water boarding’, in which a prisoner is strapped down, forcibly pushed under water and made to believe he might drown.
2005 Washington Post 23 Nov. a18/1 ‘Waterboarding’... According to the information supplied to ABC: ‘The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him.’
2005 Wall St. Jrnl. 7 Dec. (Central ed.) a18/2 Of the 12 high-value targets housed by the CIA, only one did not require waterboarding before he talked.
2009 Guardian (Nexis) 6 May (Final ed.) 18 Obama administration officials,..have banned waterboarding and other brutal techniques.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1927