pariah

(pə-rī'ə)
n.

1. A social outcast: "Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village, Huckleberry Finn, son of the town drunkard" (Mark Twain).
2. An Untouchable.

[Tamil paṛaiyar, pl. of paṛaiyan, pariah caste, from paṛai, festival drum.]

WORD HISTORY   The word pariah, which can be used for anyone who is a social outcast, independent of social position, recalls a much more rigid social system, which made only certain people pariahs. The caste system of India placed pariahs, also known as Untouchables, very low in society. The word pariah, which we have extended in meaning, came into English from Tamil paṛaiyar, the plural of paṛaiyan, the caste name, which literally means "(hereditary) drummer" and comes from the word paṛai, the name of a drum used at certain festivals. The word is first recorded in English in 1613. Its use in English and its extension in meaning probably owe much to the long period of British rule in India.

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meaning 'a social outcast', is pronounced pǝ-riy-ǝ to rhyme with Isaiah.

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IN BRIEF: A rejected and despised person. Also: a member of a degraded class; a social outcast.

Rude and uncouth behavior will make one a social pariah.

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(puh-reye-uh)

An outcast; a member of a low caste or class.

The word originally stems from the caste system of India, which put pariahs in a very low place in society. In the United States, it refers to those of low social class or social status.

For a list of words related to pariah, see:

• Behavior or Personality
• Morality or Character
• German, Greek, and Other Languages - pariah: Hindi. outcast

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See words rhyming with "pariah."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Pariah.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - paria, udstødt

idioms:

• pariah dog    pariahund

Nederlands (Dutch)
paria, verschoppeling

Français (French)
n. - paria

idioms:

• pariah dog    chien errant

Deutsch (German)
n. - Paria, Ausgestoßener

idioms:

• pariah dog    verwilderter, herrenloser Hund (im Orient)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παρίας

idioms:

• pariah dog    αδέσποτο σκυλί (κυρίως της Ανατολής)

Italiano (Italian)
paria

idioms:

• pariah dog    cane randagio

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pária (m)

idioms:

• pariah dog    cachorro de rua/vira-latas

Русский (Russian)
изгой

idioms:

• pariah dog    дворняжка

Español (Spanish)
n. - paria

idioms:

• pariah dog    rechazado por la sociedad, marginado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - paria, utstött

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
南印度的最下级民, 被放逐者, 贱民

idioms:

• pariah dog    无主的野狗

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 南印度的最下級民, 被放逐者, 賤民

idioms:

• pariah dog    無主的野狗

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 남부 인도의 최 하층민, 추방당한 사람, 부랑자

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - パリア, 社会ののけ者, パーリア

idioms:

• pariah dog    パリア犬

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المنبوذ, عضو في طبقه اجتماعيه دنيا في بورما وجنوبي الهند, شخص منبوذ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מנודה ע"י החברה, בן כת נמוכה מנודה בהודו‬

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