ostracize

Etymology

First recorded in 1649,^[1] borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízein, “to banish by voting with potsherds”),^[1][2] from Ancient Greek ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “shell, potsherd”),^[3][1] because those proposed for banishment had their names written on potsherds used as ballots.^[3][2] Greek óstrakon is akin to óstreion, the source of oyster.^[4]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
2. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. [1] [2] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. [1] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House