flagellant n 1: a person who is whipped or whips himself for sexual gratification 2: a person who whips himself as a religious penance
Flagellant \Flag"el*lant\, n. [L. flagellans, p. p. of flagellare: cf.F. flagellant. See {Flagellate}.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a fanatical sect which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and maintained that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and the sacrament; -- called also {disciplinant}. [1913 Webster]