effigy means A dummy or other crude representation of a person, group or object that is hated. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 79 out of 100.
effigy is pronounced /ˈɛfəd͡ʒi/.
Why “effigy” is a great word
EFFIGY — [Noun] A crude representation or likeness of a person, especially one made to be destroyed in protest or ridicule. From Middle French *effigie*, from Latin *effigiēs* ("likeness, effigy"), from *effingō* ("to represent, portray"). Unlike a "statue," a formal and permanent work of art, or a "portrait," a likeness for contemplative display, an effigy is a temporary vessel for collective sentiment, defined by its anticipated annihilation. It is the straw-stuffed dummy swinging from a gallows, the politician's face scowling from a crudely painted papier-mâché mask, the hanged likeness blackened by fire—a tangible ghost made to hold the abstract weight of hatred before consigning it to ashes.
noun
- A dummy or other crude representation of a person, group or object that is hated.“In England on Bonfire Night, an effigy is often burned.”
- A likeness of a person.“All around, terrace by terrace, there went marble lawns well guarded by onyx lions and carved with effigies of all the gods striding amid the symbols of the worlds.”