sanbenito


san·be·ni·to

S0058600 (săn′bə-nē′tō)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 -tos1. (Clothing & Fashion) a yellow garment bearing a red cross, worn by penitent heretics in the Inquisition2. (Clothing & Fashion) a black garment bearing flames and devils, worn by impenitent heretics at an auto-da-fé[C16: from Spanish San Benito Saint Benedict, an ironical allusion to its likeness to the Benedictine scapular]

san•be•ni•to

(ˌsæn bəˈni toʊ)

n., pl. -tos. (under the Spanish Inquisition) 1. a yellow garment worn by a penitent heretic. 2. a black garment worn by an impenitent heretic at an auto-da-fé. [1550–60; < Sp, after San Benito Saint Benedict]