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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

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

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A member of a low caste of Hindus in southern India, lower than the regular castes of the Brah-manical system, by whom they are shunned as unclean, yet superior to some other castes in the Tamil country, where they constitute a considerable part of the population. The Pariahs are commonly employed as laborers by the agricultural class, or as servants to Europeans.
  2. n. [lowercase] A member of any similarly degraded class; one generally despised; an outcast from society; a vagabond.

Wiktionary

  1. n. An outcast.
  2. n. A demographic group, species, or community that is generally despised.
  3. n. Someone in exile.
  4. n. A member of one of the oppressed social castes in India.
  5. n. A person who is rejected (from society or home).

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. One of an aboriginal people of Southern India, regarded by the four castes of the Hindus as of very low grade. They are usually the serfs of the Sudra agriculturalists. See Caste.
  2. n. An outcast; one despised by society.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a person who is rejected (from society or home)

Etymologies

  1. Tamil paṛaiyar, pl. of paṛaiyan, pariah caste, from paṛai, festival drum. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

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Comments

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  • reesetee From A.W.A.D.: "From Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan (drummer), from parai (drum, to tell). Because the drum players were considered among the lowest in the former caste system of India, the word took on the general meaning of an outcast. Earliest documented use: 1613." Apr 19, 2011

  • Prolagus Citation on predate. Nov 21, 2008

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‘pariah’ has been looked up 5015 times, loved by 15 people, added to 106 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 11.