Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

ordeal by water

1. An ordeal in which guilt or innocence depended on whether the accused person floated or sank after being submerged in cold water. 0 Those who sank were declared innocent, while those who floated were adjudged guilty because floating revealed the water's (and therefore God's) rejection of the accused. This type of ordeal was used esp. in witchcraft trials. - Also termed ordeal by cold water. 2. An ordeal in which guilt or innocence was determined by how quickly the accused person's arm healed after being placed in boiling water. - Also termed (in sense 2) ordeal by hot water; (in both senses) water ordeal.