Pariah
/pəˈraɪə/noun
A social outcast or rejected person.
Did you know?English got *pariah* through Portuguese from Tamil *paṟaiyar*, originally a name for a South Indian drum-calling caste, and its rise in English reflects how a specific social label was generalized into a word for total exclusion.
Etymological Timeline
Tamil
Tamil
paṟaiyar
“A Tamil caste name traditionally associated with drum-beating and public announcement”
16th Century
Portuguese
paria
“A member of a low caste in India; an outcaste”
17th Century
English
pariah
“A person of low social status or an outcast”
Modern English
English
pariah
“A social outcast or someone rejected by society”