pariah
NounUS[per-ahy-uh]/pɚˈaɪə/3 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- a person who is rejected (from society or home)Synonyms: outcastcastawayIshmaelType of unfortunate, unfortunate personKinds heretic, untouchable, leper
Word of the day · Sep 29About this word
haphazardadjective
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Pa′ri·ah noun
Origin: From Tamil paraiyan, pl. paraiyar, one of the low caste, fr. parai a large drum, because they beat the drums at certain festivals.
1. 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. Edward Balfour
2. An outcast; one despised by society.
Pariah dog Zoology, a mongrel race of half-wild dogs which act as scavengers in Oriental cities. — Pariah kite Zoology, a species of kite (Milvus govinda) which acts as a scavenger in India.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54