Hypertext Webster Gateway: "ostracism"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Ostracism \Os"tra*cism\, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to ostracize. See
{Ostracize}.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) Banishment by popular vote, -- a means
adopted at Athens to rid the city of a person whose talent
and influence gave umbrage.
2. Banishment; exclusion; as, social ostracism.
Public envy is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men
when they grow too great. --Bacon.
Sentenced to a perpetual ostracism from the . . .
confidence, and honors, and emoluments of his
country. --A. Hamilton.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
ostracism
n 1: the state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from
society by general consent) [syn: {banishment}]
2: the act of excluding someone from society by general consent
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.