ostracize

The story

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromὀστρακίζω“to banish from a city by ostracism”
2. English todayostracize

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.

First known use, by meaning

• from mid 19th c. To ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism.
• from mid 17th c. 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.