Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A social outcast.
- noun A Dalit.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A member of a low caste of Hindus in southern India, lower than the regular castes of the Brah-manical system, by whom they are shunned as unclean, yet superior to some other castes in the Tamil country, where they constitute a considerable part of the population. The Pariahs are commonly employed as laborers by the agricultural class, or as servants to Europeans.
- noun [lowercase] A member of any similarly degraded class; one generally despised; an outcast from society; a vagabond.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One of an aboriginal people of Southern India, regarded by the four castes of the Hindus as of very low grade. They are usually the serfs of the Sudra agriculturalists. See
Caste . - noun An outcast; one despised by society.
- noun (Zoöl.) a mongrel race of half-wild dogs which act as scavengers in Oriental cities.
- noun (Zoöl.) a species of kite (
Milvus govinda ) which acts as a scavenger in India.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
outcast . - noun A
demographic group,species , or community that is generally despised. - noun Someone in
exile . - noun A member of one of the
oppressed socialcastes inIndia . - noun A person who is
rejected (from society or home).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a person who is rejected (from society or home)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
The word pariah has been adopted by Undefined. Help support Wordnik by adopting your own word here.
Examples
-
The players of the paRai were of a low social order and the term pariah eventually became the descriptor for the lowest caste - the untouchables - in parts of Sri Lanka.
-
Members of the Paraiyar group—from which the word "pariah" is derived—performed menial labor and because they were considered unclean, lived outside of villages.
For India's Lowest Castes, Path Forward Is 'Backward' Geeta Anand 2011
-
And as CNBC's Darren Rovell wrote on Monday, it means that Vick, not long ago considered a pariah, is now popular to the point that his No. 7 Eagles jersey is in demand.
Michael Vick Jerseys Are Hot Sellers The Huffington Post News Team 2010
-
And as CNBC's Darren Rovell wrote on Monday, it means that Vick, not long ago considered a pariah, is now popular to the point that his No. 7 Eagles jersey is in demand.
Michael Vick Jerseys Are Hot Sellers The Huffington Post News Team 2010
-
John Kerry says that one reason America has become an "international pariah" is President Bush's decision to "walk away from global warming."
-
The Democratic Alliance earlier questioned Sorth Korean delegation led by Yang, saying it pointed to a pattern of friendships with so-called pariah states.
-
The country's formal diplomatic links were largely confined to a number of countries with whom apartheid South Africa had historical links, or with the so-called pariah countries.
FOREIGN POLICY PERSPECTIVE IN A DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA 1994
-
Below the laboring caste there is a substratum which is termed pariah or outcast, and these degraded specimens of humanity are not better than animated machines performing the functions of public scavengers.
East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan Frederic Courtland Penfield 1888
-
India, called pariah dogs; since the latter, although not owned by individuals, dwell in the villages, and of course associate with man.
Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found A Book of Zoology for Boys Mayne Reid 1850
-
Dog, anjing: those brought from Europe lose in a few years their distinctive qualities, and degenerate at length into the cur with erect ears, kuyu, vulgarly called the pariah dog.
The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants William Marsden 1795
Prolagus commented on the word pariah
Citation on predate.
November 21, 2008
reesetee commented on the word pariah
From A.W.A.D.: "From Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan (drummer), from parai (drum, to tell). Because the drum players were considered among the lowest in the former caste system of India, the word took on the general meaning of an outcast. Earliest documented use: 1613."
April 19, 2011