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- ''For "someone who prangs", see prang.
The Pranger (the German word means 'which pinches badly') is a physical punishment device invented in Germany.
Similar to the stocks and pillory, the Pranger was connected from the neck via a chain, to a pair of leg restraints that were fastened around the offender's ankles. Often the chain was short so that the offender was placed in a very awkward, uncomfortable, semi-kneeling position.
There was also other type of pranger. The condemned was tied to column that stands in town center for public view. For more serious crimes he also could be flogged, marked by burned stigma, or have his ears, nose or right hand cut.
It is not a torture device, since it was only used for public humiliation as punishment, not for painful interrogation or other coercion.
In German the word was also used for the scolding bridle.
Sources
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"Pranger"