Pillory vs. Stocks — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on November 2, 2023
Pillory is a device that locks the head and hands, while stocks confine the feet. Both were used historically for public punishment.
Difference Between Pillory and Stocks
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework mounted on a pole and includes holes for securing the head and hands. Stocks are similar but designed to secure the feet and sometimes the hands of a person.
Pillory was primarily used to expose the offender’s face and upper body to public ridicule, while stocks were used to restrain the offender in a seated position with their feet locked.
Both pillory and stocks were symbols of public humiliation, but the pillory allowed for more vulnerability as the individual’s upper body was exposed, making it easier for passersby to engage with the punished.
Pillories were often found in town squares to increase the visibility of the punishment, while stocks could be located in a variety of public places, including marketplaces and courthouses.
While both devices were used for minor offenses, the pillory was sometimes seen as the more severe punishment due to the additional exposure and discomfort it provided.
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Comparison Chart
Body Parts Confined
Head and hands.
Feet, sometimes hands.
Position of the Offender
Standing.
Seated.
Level of Exposure
Head and upper body exposed.
Primarily feet exposed.
Mobility
Upper body free, but immobile due to head confinement.
Lower mobility due to sitting position.
Historical Usage
More commonly used for upper body humiliation.
Used for confining and immobilizing offenders.
Compare with Definitions
Pillory
Pillory serves as a means of punishment and public shaming.
The crowd jeered at the man in the pillory.
Stocks
Stocks are restraining devices that lock a person’s feet.
The colonial reenactors demonstrated how stocks were used for punishment.
Pillory
Pillory is a historical form of correctional exhibition.
Museums display the pillory to educate about past punitive practices.
Stocks
Stocks immobilize offenders for public display and ridicule.
In the town square, the stocks stood empty, a relic of a bygone era.
Pillory
Pillory is a symbol of medieval justice systems.
The pillory stood as a stark reminder of the harshness of medieval law.
Stocks
Stocks serve as a physical and psychological deterrent to crime.
He was sentenced to an afternoon in the stocks for his mischief.
Pillory
Pillory was used to deter others from committing similar offenses.
They put the forger in the pillory as a warning to others.
Stocks
Stocks were used to secure prisoners in a seated position.
Visitors laughed as their friend sat in the stocks for a photo.
Pillory
The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. The pillory is related to the stocks.
Stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation.
Pillory
A wooden framework on a post, with holes for the head and hands, in which offenders were formerly locked to be exposed to public scorn as punishment.
Stocks
A supply accumulated for future use; a store.
Pillory
To expose to ridicule and abuse.
Stocks
The total merchandise kept on hand by a merchant, commercial establishment, warehouse, or manufacturer.
Pillory
To put in a pillory as punishment.
Stocks
All the animals kept or raised on a farm; livestock.
Pillory
A framework on a post, with holes for the hands and head, used as a means of punishment and humiliation.
Stocks
All the aquatic animals kept or raised in an aquaculture operation.
Pillory
(transitive) To put in a pillory.
Stocks
A population of wild animals, especially of a species that is also farmed
Interactions between hatchery fish and wild stocks.
Pillory
(transitive) To subject to humiliation, scorn, ridicule or abuse.
Stocks
A kind of financial security granting rights of ownership in a corporation, such as a claim to a portion of the assets and earnings of the corporation and the right to vote for the board of directors. Stock is issued and traded in units called shares.
Pillory
(transitive) To criticize harshly.
Stocks
The stock issued by a particular company
A mutual fund that invests in technology stocks.
Pillory
A frame of adjustable boards erected on a post, and having holes through which the head and hands of an offender were thrust so as to be exposed in front of it.
Stocks
Chiefly British The money invested in a corporation, including debt and equity.
Pillory
To set in, or punish with, the pillory.
Stocks
Chiefly British A bond, especially a government bond.
Pillory
Figuratively, to expose to public scorn.
Stocks
The trunk or main stem of a tree or another plant.
Pillory
A wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the neck and hands; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn
Stocks
A plant or stem onto which a graft is made.
Pillory
Expose to ridicule or public scorn
Stocks
A plant or tree from which cuttings and slips are taken.
Pillory
Punish by putting in a pillory
Stocks
The original progenitor of a family line.
Pillory
Criticize harshly or violently;
The press savaged the new President
The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage
Stocks
The descendants of a common ancestor; a family line, especially of a specified character
Comes from farming stock.
Pillory
Pillory is a device for public humiliation, confining the head and hands.
The thief was locked in the pillory at the town square.
Stocks
Ancestry or lineage; antecedents.
Stocks
The type from which a group of animals or plants has descended.
Stocks
A race, family, or other related group of animals or plants.
Stocks
An ethnic group or other major division of the human race.
Stocks
A group of related languages.
Stocks
A group of related families of languages.
Stocks
The raw material out of which something is made.
Stocks
Paper used for printing.
Stocks
The broth in which meat, fish, bones, or vegetables are simmered for a relatively long period, used as a base in preparing soup, gravy, or sauces.
Stocks
A main upright part, especially a supporting structure or block.
Stocks
Stocks(Nautical) The timber frame that supports a ship during construction.
Stocks
Often stocks A frame in which a horse or other animal is held for shoeing or for veterinary treatment.
Stocks
Stocks A device consisting of a heavy timber frame with holes for confining the ankles and sometimes the wrists, formerly used for punishment.
Stocks
(Nautical) A crosspiece at the end of the shank of an anchor.
Stocks
The wooden block from which a bell is suspended.
Stocks
The rear wooden, metal, or plastic handle or support of a rifle, pistol, or automatic weapon, to which the barrel and mechanism are attached.
Stocks
The long supporting structure and mooring beam of field-gun carriages that trails along the ground to provide stability and support.
Stocks
A handle, such as that of a whip, a fishing rod, or various carpentry tools.
Stocks
The frame of a plow, to which the share, handles, coulter, and other parts are fastened.
Stocks
A theatrical stock company.
Stocks
The repertoire of such a company.
Stocks
A theater or theatrical activity, especially outside of a main theatrical center
A small role in summer stock.
Stocks
(Botany) Any of several Eurasian and Mediterranean plants of the genus Matthiola in the mustard family, especially M. incana, widely cultivated for its clusters of showy, fragrant, variously colored flowers.
Stocks
(Games) The portion of a pack of cards or of a group of dominoes that is not dealt out but is drawn from during a game.
Stocks
(Geology) A body of intrusive igneous rock of which less than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) is exposed.
Stocks
(Zoology) A compound organism, such as a colony of zooids.
Stocks
Personal reputation or status
A teacher whose stock with the students is rising.
Stocks
Confidence or credence
I put no stock in that statement.
Stocks
A long white neckcloth worn as part of a formal riding habit.
Stocks
A broad scarf worn around the neck, especially by certain clerics.
Stocks
Rolling stock.
Stocks
To supply (a shop) with merchandise.
Stocks
To supply (a farm) with livestock.
Stocks
To fill (a stream, for example) with fish.
Stocks
To keep for future sale or use.
Stocks
To provide (a rifle, for example) with a stock.
Stocks
(Obsolete) To put (someone) in the stocks as a punishment.
Stocks
To gather and lay in a supply of something
Stock up on canned goods.
Stocks
To put forth or sprout new shoots. Used of a plant.
Stocks
Kept regularly in stock
A stock item.
Stocks
Repeated regularly without any thought or originality; routine
A stock answer.
Stocks
Employed in dealing with or caring for stock or merchandise
A stock clerk.
Stocks
Of or relating to the raising of livestock
Stock farming.
Stocks
Used for breeding
A stock mare.
Stocks
Of or relating to a stock company or its repertoire.
Stocks
Of or being a conventional character or situation that recurs in many literary or cinematic works.
Stocks
Plural of stock
Stocks
(plurale tantum) A device, similar to a pillory, formerly used for public humiliation and punishment.
Stocks
The frame upon which a ship is built, and from which it is launched.
Stocks
A wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the neck and hands; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn
Stocks
Stocks are associated with historical penal systems.
The old stocks at the museum once restrained countless petty criminals.
Common Curiosities
What types of crimes were punished by the pillory?
Minor offenses such as gossiping, blasphemy, and petty theft.
What was the purpose of the pillory?
The pillory was used for public punishment and humiliation of criminals.
Are stocks still legal anywhere?
Stocks are no longer used for punishment and are illegal in most places.
Are pillories still used today?
No, pillories are not used today and are seen as historical artifacts.
Were stocks considered a severe form of punishment?
While uncomfortable, stocks were for lesser crimes and considered less severe than other punishments.
Could the pillory be dangerous?
Yes, individuals in the pillory were sometimes harmed by onlookers.
What was the primary use of stocks?
Stocks were used to immobilize and publicly shame offenders.
How long would people be left in stocks?
The duration varied, often from several hours to a few days.
How were offenders secured in a pillory?
Offenders had their heads and hands locked in the pillory’s holes.
Did stocks confine more than just the feet?
Sometimes, stocks also had holes to confine the hands.
Where were stocks typically located?
Stocks were usually placed in public areas like marketplaces or courthouses.
Could people in stocks defend themselves?
No, people in stocks were defenseless and subject to public ridicule.
Are pillories and stocks the same?
No, they are different devices; pillories secure the head and hands, while stocks secure the feet.
Can you visit places with original pillories or stocks?
Yes, some historical sites and museums have preserved these devices for educational purposes.
Did the pillory and stocks only exist in Europe?
No, versions of these punishment devices were used in various cultures.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
