a1856 in Olmsted Slave States 115 I have heard that the great ordeal, in their [sc. negroes'] estimation, a ‘seeker’ had to pass, was being held over the infernal flames by a thread or a hair. If the thread does not break, the suspendee is ‘in the Lord.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1918; most recently modified version published online September 2019).