Ostracization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of deliberately excluding or banishing someone from a community or social group
2. The process by which an individual is rejected or socially isolated by others within a collective
3. A social practice where a person is shunned or barred from participation by their peers

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "ostracization" is how little of it is original. The noun is simply the "-ation" form of "ostracize", the verb built on the Greek "ostrakon", a potsherd or fragment of pottery. In ancient Athens, citizens voted to banish a person for ten years by scratching a name on a broken pot, and the practice gave the English verb its sense of shutting someone out. The noun's suffix has a long road into English. The "-ation" ending descends from Latin "-ātiō", passed through Old French "-ation" and Middle English "-aciioun" before settling into the modern form. Attaching it to "ostracize" produced a noun for the whole act of excluding someone rather than the single verb of doing it.