quirt

Etymology

From Spanish cuerda (“cord”), or Mexican Spanish cuarta (“whip”).

noun

1. A rawhide whip plaited with two thongs of buffalo hide.
   about 1900, O. Henry, Hygeia at the Solito He sprang into the saddle easily as a bird, got the quirt from the horn, and gave his pony a slash with it.
   […] when the young man whirled his horse, “hazed” Jupiter in circles and belaboured him with a rawhide quirt, […] He ceased his cavortings […] 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter I, in The Understanding Heart
   She raised the handle of her beautiful quirt to her eyes and scanned the Western horizon. 1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Don't Point That Thing at Me, Penguin, published 2001, page 96
   He rode his horse with the reins tied and he wore a pistol at his belt and a plain flatcrowned hat of a type no longer much seen in that country and he wore tooled boots to his knees and carried a quirt. 1994, Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing

verb

1. To strike with a quirt.