Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control;
escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence;
[syn: ordeal, trial by ordeal]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
trial by ordeal
n 1: a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or
innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or
painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape
was usually taken as a sign of innocence [syn: ordeal,
trial by ordeal]