ostracize

/ˈɒstɹəsaɪz/

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “to banish from a city by ostracism”), from ὄστρᾰκον (óstrăkon, “earthenware vessel; fragment of such a vessel, potsherd”) (from the fact that when voting was held to decide whether to banish people, their names were inscribed on potsherds) + -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō, suffix forming verbs)). The English word is cognate with French ostraciser.

ostracize means To ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 76 out of 100.

Why this word is great

OSTRACIZE — [Verb] To exclude someone from a group or society by refusing to associate with or acknowledge them. From Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “to banish by ostracism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “potsherd, shell”) (as votes for banishment were inscribed on potsherds) + -ῐ́ζω (-ízō, verb-forming suffix). Unlike “shun” (which implies a personal, often moral, avoidance) or “exile” (which denotes a formal, geographical expulsion), to ostracize is the cold, communal machinery of social death. It is the emptied chair at the lunch table, the sudden silence that enters a room with you, and the unanimous, wordless verdict that you no longer exist—a quiet violence proving the cruelest borders are those drawn between people.

verb

To ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism.“Republics have been accused of being ungrateful. Aristides was ostracised for being called the Just, and Themistocles banished, after saving his country from desolation.”
To exclude a person from a community or from society by not communicating with them or by refusing to acknowledge their presence; to refuse to associate with or talk to; to shun.“You then moſt Noble Equivocations and Alluſions, whom Rhetorick would Oſtraciſe, ſeek Revenge for your Baniſhment; [...]”