pariah

views updated May 14 2018

pa·ri·ah / pəˈrīə/ • n. 1. an outcast: they were treated as social pariahs.2. hist. a member of a low caste or of no caste in southern India.

pariah

views updated May 17 2018

pariah a member of a low caste or of no caste in southern India. The word comes in the 17th century from Tamil ‘hereditary drummer’, from paṛai a drum (pariahs not being allowed to join in with a religious procession).

From the early 19th century, the term has been in general use for someone who is despised and shunned, an outcast.

pariah

views updated May 18 2018

pariah member of a low Hindu caste XVII; social outcast XIX. Earlier parea, parrier, par(r)iarTamil paṟaiyaṉ+D547 , pl. paṟaiyar name of the largest of the lower castes in S. India, lit. ‘drummer’, f. paṟai large drum beaten at certain festivals.