Definition of "cilice" []

• A coarse cloth; haircloth. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It's probably under the literary radar around here I hope, but "cilice" has gotten quite some use lately in The Da Vinci Code."
• "Opus Dei weirdican Ruth Kelly was unavailable for religious comment, as she was playing with her cilice, but BBC Weather Girl Carol Kirkwood said, "We advise people not to travel, as getting a frog in the face at terminal velocity is not likely to make for a good day"."
• "I thought I saw homage paid to the character of Silas Paul Bettany in The Davinci Code when Barnabus appears with a cilice wrapped around his right arm."