English

Etymology

Seems to have been used in Ireland in the early 20th century. Since James Joyce cites it in the context of a Catholic school in his novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, it's probably intended as a pun on the Latin word pendebat.

Noun

1. A stout leather strap reinforced internally with whalebone or even lead and used to inflict punishment - especially by using it to strike against the open uplifted hands on schoolboys.
2. :The soutane sleeve swished again as the pandybat was lifted and a loud crashing sound and a fierce maddening...pain made his hand shrink together... - w:Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by w:James Joyce|James Joyce, 1916

ru:pandybat