ostracize English · revision 132
5 Oct 2026, 22:03 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
Changes in this edit
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈɒstɹəsaɪz/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɑstɹəˌsaɪz/, /ˈɒstɹəˌsaɪz/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
==Etymology==
First recorded in 1649,^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|grc|ὀστρακίζω|tr=ostrakízein|t=to banish by voting with potsherds]],^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) [[der|grc|ὄστρακον|tr=óstrakon|t=shell, potsherd]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) because those proposed for banishment had their names written on potsherds used as ballots.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary) Greek ''óstrakon'' is akin to ''óstreion'', the source of [[oyster]].^(RHWU)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Figuratively, “to exclude from society or favour” (1649);^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate) the literal Greek sense, “to banish by voting with potsherds”, is recorded in English only from 1850.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1640s – first recorded.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)
+ * 1649 – “to exclude from society or favour”.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * 1850 – of ancient Greece, “to banish by voting with potsherds”.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Verb===
+ # To exclude someone from a group or from society by common consent.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(history)'' In ancient Greece, to banish a citizen temporarily by popular vote.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[ostracizable]]
+ * [[ostracization]]
+ * [[ostracizer]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[ostracism]]
+ * [[ostracon]]
+ * [[ostrakon]]
+ * [[oyster]]
+
==References==
{{reflist}}