This noun denotes a sharp blow with the hand, typically to the face—a gesture carrying both physical pain and social humiliation. The term appears in the passion narratives: the temple guards strike Jesus with such blows while mocking his prophetic claims (Mark 14:65), a servant delivers one during the high priest's interrogation (John 18:22), and Roman soldiers administer them as part of their cruel theater of mockery (John 19:3). The classical lexicon notes the word can mean a simple stroke or more specifically a slap to the face, with later usage extending to welts or marks left by blows. In these Gospel contexts, the physical violence is inseparable from the social degradation—each slap expressing contempt for Jesus' messianic claims.