verb/fɛ.se/
to spank or smack; to whack, to strike or crash into
“Quand les enfants se tiennent mal, leurs parents les fessent et tout ça se répète le lendemain.” — When children misbehave, their parents spank them, then it all happens again the next day.
Inherited from Middle French fesser, derived from Old French faisse, fece ( compare Old French faisser), derived from Latin fascia. The spelling and sense (originally "to strike with a rod") influenced by unrelated fesse (“buttock”)). Compare also Late Latin fasciāre.