OSTRACISM

ostracism

(noun) the act of excluding someone from society by general consent

banishment, ostracism, Coventry

(noun) the state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from society by general consent); “the association should get rid of its elderly members--not by euthanasia, of course, but by Coventry”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

ostracism (countable and uncountable, plural ostracisms)

(historical) In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state. [from 16th c.]

(figuratively) Banishment by some general consent. [from 17th c.]

Temporary exclusion from a community or society.

Synonyms

• (exclusion): ostracization, shunning, petalism

Anagrams

• Castroism, Croatisms, Socratism, microsats, rotacisms

Source: Wiktionary


Os"tra*cism, n. Etym: [Gr. Ostracize.]

1. (Gr. Antiq.)

Definition: Banishment by popular vote, -- a means adopted at Athens to rid the city of a person whose talent and influence gave umbrage.

2. Banishment; exclusion; as, social ostracism. Public envy is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men when they grow too great. Bacon. Sentenced to a perpetual ostracism from the . . . confidence, and honors, and emoluments of his country. A. Hamilton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.

coffee icon