Ostracism

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/

Definitions

1. The intentional exclusion of an individual from social engagement occurs when a person is deliberately left out by their peers, leading to their isolation
2. The act of deliberately excluding someone from participation in a group or social interactions
3. A practice where an individual is purposefully kept out of community or social events

Etymology: In ancient Athens, citizens who wanted a politician gone scratched his name on a broken piece of pottery, called an "óstrakon," and dropped it into a voting urn. If enough shards named the same man, he was sent into exile for ten years without any crime having been proven. The Greek noun "ostrakismós" named this procedure, literally "banishment by means of potsherds," and it was built from "ostrakízein," meaning to vote someone out this way. The English word keeps that clay pot at its core. It was borrowed directly from Greek, with the Greek suffix "-ismós" becoming the English "-ism" to form a noun of action. Its meaning shifted from a formal political exile to a broader social one: being deliberately shut out of a group, whether by a community or by one's peers.

Synonyms: exclusion, shunning, banishment, rejection

Antonyms: inclusion, acceptance