scapegoat
scapegoat in the Bible, a goat sent into the wilderness after the Jewish chief priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it, as in Leviticus 16:22. In the Mosaic ritual of the Day of Atonement, this was the one of two goats that was chosen to be sent alive into the wilderness, while the other was sacrificed.
The English term scapegoat appears to have been coined by Tyndale from archaic scape ‘escape’ + goat; that is, the goat which was not to be sacrificed.
In the early 19th century, the word acquired the more general meaning of a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
The English term scapegoat appears to have been coined by Tyndale from archaic scape ‘escape’ + goat; that is, the goat which was not to be sacrificed.
In the early 19th century, the word acquired the more general meaning of a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.
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scapegoat