pariah: [17] Now a general term for an ‘outcast’, pariah came into English from the caste system of southern India. It originally denoted a member of the largest of the lower castes, which was named in Tamil paraiyan. This meant literally ‘drummer’ (it was a derivative of parai ‘large festival drum’), a reference to the hereditary role of the paraiyar (plural) as drummers in festival parades.
pariah (n.)
1610s, from Portuguese paria or directly from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan "drummer" (at festivals, the hereditary duty of members of the largest of the lower castes of southern India), from parai "large festival drum." "Especially numerous at Madras, where its members supplied most of the domestics in European service" [OED]. Applied by Hindus and Europeans to any members of low Hindu castes and even to outcastes. Extended meaning "social outcast" is first attested 1819.
双语例句
1. Shortly Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village.
不一会儿,汤姆碰上了村里的少年弃儿.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. His landlady had treated him like a dangerous criminal, a pariah.
房东太太对待他就像对待危险的罪犯、对待社会弃儿一样。
来自辞典例句
3. The emancipation process of pariah began in the period of colony.
贱民解放的过程起始于殖民地时期.
来自互联网
4. Ronaldo : He's not a pariah, he's a very gifted boy.
他不是一个“贱小孩”, 他是一个天赋十足的男孩.
来自互联网
5. His removal by force, however, has made Honduras a pariah among regional nations.
