Is 'knout' English, or is it actually Russian?

'Knout' is a word borrowed from Russian 'knut'. The word entered the English language some time around 1716.

knout [noun] [1716]

A whip used for flogging

See 'knout' on the Loan Words Map

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note: A kind of whip with knots. Via French knout from Russian кнут (knut) from Old East Slavic кнутъ (knutŭ) from Old Norse knútr (“knot in a cord”).
Etymology: Russian 'knut' of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse 'knūtr' knot; akin to Old English 'cnotta'

See more loan words from 1700s.